The Fall of the Dark Knight
by Shaddic
Summary: As Batman, Bruce Wayne swore to never kill, but what if a day came when he couldn't fight it any longer? What will become of Gotham when its hero becomes the enemy?
1. Chapter 1

The night was cold and dark, a light rain fell from a starless sky. Batman was at the zoo with Nightwing, waiting for Catwoman to show up. Yesterday a white tiger had been brought to the Gotham city zoo, an obvious target for her. While not exactly rare or valuable, he knew Catwoman would never let any type of cat be locked up, and that she would either set it free or keep it as a pet. He felt certain she would come tonight, not wanting the animal to "suffer" any longer.

Just as he suspected, she appeared only minutes later. They hid in the shadows and watched as she searched for the tiger's cage. He knew he would have to arrest her again, and it hurt him every time he had to cuff her. How he wished she would give up crime, but even then he knew they could never truly be together. Selina Kyle could never know his true name.

"Batman, did you hear that?" whispered Nightwing.

He listened and heard something, but couldn't be sure what it was. Apprehending Catwoman was never easy but didn't require Nightwing's assistance, but he had been visiting from Blüdhaven and since the night had been relatively quiet he had offered to join him.

Suddenly, the thing that had made the noise appeared. Two hyenas came out of nowhere and pounced on Catwoman. She threw them off of her and quickly grabbed her whip and whipped them both until they backed off. As they trotted away, their owners made their appearance. The Joker with his painted smile and Harley Quinn on his arm.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" asked the Joker with a wicked grin. "A stray cat? We should do our civic duty and give her the Bob Barker treatment."

"What are you doing here, clown?" asked Catwoman, her tone annoyed.

"Today's my birthday, so Mistah J said we could get the babies back from the zoo!" said Harley happily. "Isn't he the sweetest thing? He knows just how to make his girl smile."

Nightwing had been about to spring into action, but Batman held him back. The Joker had escaped two weeks before with his girlfriend Harley. The two had been causing random mischief but nothing too serious, so Batman believed they would do something big soon, but he had no idea what. He had been waiting for the Joker to make a mistake, or at the very least give him some hint as to what he had planned. He needed to be patient; he would deal with the Joker soon enough, but he wanted to wait to make sure he didn't divulge anything important first.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a tiger to rescue," said Catwoman dismissively as she turned to walk away.

"So noble…" said the Joker with a grin. "If only your dear boyfriend were here to see you being such a good girl, he'd be so proud."

Catwoman sighed exasperatedly and the Joker continued. "You know, I've been trying to think of the perfect way to get his attention for my next plan, but nothing I've come up with has really felt right. You wouldn't happen to have his number, would you?"

"I'm afraid he hasn't given me his number, so sorry to disappoint you," said Catwoman as she rolled her eyes and began to walk away.

"He hasn't? Some boyfriend he is, I'll have to give him some relationship advice some time," chuckled the Joker. "Well in that case, I guess I'll just have to go with plan B."

Before Batman or Nightwing could stop him, the Joker whipped out a gun and shot Catwoman in the head. She collapsed to the ground as blood poured out of her skull. Enraged, Batman leapt from his hiding place and ran at the Joker with Nightwing following close behind. The Joker's eyebrows raised in surprise as Batman tackled him to the ground as Nightwing went after Harley.

"Well if it isn't the big bad Bat come to spoil my fun," giggled the Joker as Batman repeatedly punched him in the face. "If I had known getting your attention would be this easy, I'd have killed the cat years ago!"

"Why did you want my attention?" snarled Batman.

"Because my latest plan is my best yet, but it needs you to truly be perfect. I wish I could give you the details, but then it wouldn't be a secret anymore, now would it?"

Batman gripped his fingers around the madman's throat, and this only served to amuse the Joker even more. Between gasps for breath he would laugh at the Batman, as though he had told some joke that he didn't get.

As he kept him pinned to the ground, Batman felt his rage and hatred of the man before him increase as memories of the man's terrible acts of cruelty washed over him like an ocean. He had murdered Robin so long ago and crippled Barbara Gordon and tried to drive Jim Gordon insane. He had ruined countless lives and stolen so many others, and behind him lay Selina, most likely dead. Why had he shot her? He could have gotten his attention in any other way, yet he had chosen this. Why? It made no sense, none of his crimes ever did. Why did he find so much amusement in the pain and suffering of others? Why was it that no matter how many times he locked him away he could never truly beat him, could never truly win the battle?

"Feisty tonight, aren't we Bats?" coughed the Joker. "My, the way you're acting you'd think I'd killed your girlfriend or something. Oops, too soon?"

Batman was losing control, his grip around the Joker's throat began to tighten, even so the Joker continued to laugh as best he could with what little oxygen he could get. Why wouldn't he stop laughing at him? He couldn't take it anymore, he was sick of the Joker always laughing at him, sick of trying to clean up the trail of blood the Joker always left behind him. He was trying to help the city, to save it from the monsters who terrorized it without end, while the Joker went out of his way to thwart his efforts and laugh at his need to protect those who needed him. Why had he not killed this man before? Why was it that every time he had the chance to end his reign of terror he showed him the mercy he never showed his victims?

"Come on, you can do it, almost there," encouraged Joker as he continued to laugh. "You know, I always believed in you. I always believed you had it in you to be like me. It took a lot of hard work to push you over the edge, and I'd almost given up on you, but you're just full of surprises, aren't you? You make Papa proud."

Part of his brain told him to stop and tried to remind himself why he shouldn't kill him. He tried to stop himself from breaking his one rule, from sinking down to the level of his enemies, but it was too late. With one swift motion he snapped his neck in two, but to Batman's revulsion, he didn't die immediately.

"Congratulations Bats, I knew you could do it. Now sit back and watch the world go up in flames. Goodbye, old friend, 'till we meet again," he said weakly as he laughed his last laugh. When his laughter ended, the world suddenly became deathly quiet.

It took a few seconds for it to register in his brain what he had done. When it did, he stood up and took a few steps away from the Joker's body. He was about to perform CPR, but then remembered that he had broken his neck and it would do no good. The Joker was dead, and the Batman had been the one to take his life.

Batman couldn't believe what he had done. He had finally done it, he had broken his one rule and ended a life. Why had he done it? Never before had he lost control in such a way, how could he have let the Joker do this to him? Why had he been unable to control himself this time? Was it because of what he did to Catwoman? No, it was that and everything else the Joker had ever done. It had become too much. He had had to end it, but not this way. He remembered a time when he had told the Joker that if he didn't stop what he was doing, if he didn't stop the madness, it would end with one of them killing the other, but never had he thought he would be doing the killing. It had always been a possibility, but he had believed he would always be able to resist. It was like the universe had just slapped him back to reality; he had been a fool to just believe he could always be strong enough to resist, and now he was paying for it. He felt a grim satisfaction in the man's death, and he was disgusted with himself for it. It didn't matter that the Joker was a sadistic monster, what he had done was wrong. He didn't know what to do, he just stood there, trying to decide what this meant for him.

"Batman, I got Harley," said Nightwing as he dragged an irritated-looking Harley over in handcuffs. "I called the police, they'll be here so-" he stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth dropped open when he saw the Joker on the ground, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

"Mistah J!" screamed Harley as she threw herself on the ground next to his body. Nightwing was in such a state of shock that he didn't even try to stop her.

"Puddin'! No, no, no, you can't be dead, you just can't be!" wailed Harley as she wrapped her arms around him and soaked his suit with her tears. "Don't leave me like this, I need you, please come back to me! This can't be happening, it just can't be! Please, I need you, I love you! You can't be dead!" She paused, then whispered as she gazed up at the man responsible for her boyfriend's death, "But you are, aren't you? You killed him. You said you never would, but you did. You killed him, you stole him from me. You stole my Puddin!"

Harley threw herself at Batman, but he had been expecting it and grabbed her by her wrists and held her at arms-length. She screamed incoherently at him and tried to free herself, but as she did the gravity of the situation began to sink in and he watched as her boundless energy was drained from her right before his eyes. She sank to her knees and took in gasping breaths, no longer strong enough to stand, too anguished and heartbroken to even cry.

The police came then, and Nightwing finally broke through his stupor and made to take Harley to the police. Batman released her and she wrapped her arms around her stomach and refused to move, so Nightwing picked her up and carried her to the cops.

Batman took off then, not wanting to face Gordon after what he had done. Jim had always trusted him, had always been a good friend, but now… He was too ashamed and disgusted with himself to face one of the few men in Gotham who were uncorrupted.

He went back to the Batmobile and drove back to the Batcave. Exactly fifteen minutes later Nightwing returned, as well.

"Catwoman is still alive, but they doubt she'll make it through the night," said Nightwing. "Harley's being taken back to Arkham, maybe there's finally hope for her now. I considered lying to the police and telling them the Joker's death was an accident, but I assumed you wouldn't want that."

"You're right, I wouldn't have you lie to the police, especially about something like this," said Batman grimly.

Just then, Oracle appeared on the Batcomputer. "I just heard the news, did you really kill the Joker?"

Nightwing didn't know what to say. He had always believed that if either of them slipped up like this, that it would be him, not Batman. He didn't know what to think.

"Yes, I lost control and murdered him," said Batman as he ripped his mask off.

"What will happen now?" asked Oracle reluctantly.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Batman angrily. "I can't be the Batman anymore."

"What!" shouted Nightwing and Oracle in unison.

"I couldn't control myself, I let my emotions cloud my judgment and look what happened. I took a man's life."

"You can't let one incident get in the way of your duty, after all, it was just the Joker," reasoned Nightwing. "Look at it this way, all the people he would have killed, you saved their lives tonight."

"The Joker was still a man, and I swore to never take a life. You can't condone murder, even when it's life in its lowest form."

"I'm not condoning it, it was wrong, but I know you won't make the same mistake again. Everyone makes mistakes, nobody's perfect, so why should you be?"

"Because as Batman I set an example. If people see me killing they'll think it's the appropriate way to deal with criminals. But it's not just that. I swore not to kill because I knew that if I did I wouldn't be able to stop. Now that I have, I don't know if I can keep myself from killing other criminals."

"You can," said Oracle. "I believe in you. I believe that you are strong enough to resist, that you can keep Gotham safe without taking lives. I've always believed in you, ever since I was a little girl, but you need to believe in yourself."

"I appreciate that, but I can't take that risk. There will be no more Batman."

Nightwing had been about to protest, but Oracle spoke first. "I don't agree, but I'll respect your decision. We both will."

"Do you need me to stay in Gotham for a little while longer?" asked Nightwing.

"No, Blüdhaven needs you," said Batman. "Go, we'll be fine here."

Nightwing left the Batcave, having nothing more to say. Oracle turned off her computer and massaged her temples with her fingers. They both wondered if it was wrong of them to be glad that the Joker was finally dead, and they wondered what would happen to Gotham now that its greatest villain and greatest hero were both gone.

_**Author's Note:**__ Things aren't always what they seem. I know it's cliché, but remember that while you read this story._


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three days since the Joker's death, and all of Gotham was in an uproar over it. Everyone had heard how the Caped Crusader had finally stopped the Clown Prince of Crime once and for all, and for the first time in a long time, they were able to relax, to a certain degree, of course. While the city was in no way free from crime, one of its biggest threats was finally gone. It was almost enough to convince the Batman to resume fighting crime, almost.

Catwoman was in a coma. The doctors doubted she would ever wake up, and had suggested they just pull the plug. Batman had intervened and ensured that she would be kept alive. He cared for her so much, and he had lost so much already, there was no way he would let them take her from him, too.

Nightwing had returned to Blüdhaven, but not before repeatedly making sure that Batman wouldn't reconsider his decision. Oracle had considered calling Batman and making sure he was okay, but didn't want to bother him, feeling that if he wanted to talk about the incident he would call her.

The Joker was being laid to rest that day. Since no one wanted the Joker buried anywhere near their loved ones, they had chosen a very old cemetery where no one had been buried in years. Hundreds of people gathered for the grave-side ceremony, a few adoring fans, but mostly people who came not out of respect, but because they wanted to see the clown put in the ground, as though they needed to see his grave for themselves before they would believe he was actually dead.

The funeral was being broadcast live for all of Gotham to see. In the front row sat Harley Quinn in her Arkham uniform with her hands cuffed and surrounded by three guards. She had pleaded and made several threats against her own life and the lives of the doctors to be allowed to see the man she loved laid to rest, she had even promised that she wouldn't break out of Arkham if they would let her attend the ceremony. Her doctor had reluctantly agreed, believing it would give her closure and help her to move on. She was doing an impressive job of keeping herself composed, no doubt trying to be strong for her Puddin'.

A priest began to speak then and said a prayer for the Joker's soul. The man awkwardly tried his best to come up with something nice to say about the Joker, because when someone dies no matter how awful they were in life people come up with nice things to say about them in death, but he could think of little to say other than that he had been a very intelligent man. After he had finished, he asked if anyone else would like to speak. As it turned out, many people had many things to say about the Joker, which mainly consisted of how they had been affected by the Joker's crimes and why they hated him and how happy they were he was finally dead. One man stated that he was expecting the Joker to rise from the grave, because according to him, "Not even Satan would want a man like that." One or two people tried to speak about how they admired the Joker, but the crowd yelled and cursed at them until they left.

"Is there anyone else who would like to speak?" asked the priest politely, obviously tired and hoping that they could end the ceremony.

"I wanna say somethin'," piped up Harley.

Her guards followed her to the front of the crowd. Harley bit down on her lower lip and tugged at one of her pigtails as she readied herself to speak.

"Ya'know, if Mistah J were here today, he'd have all of you wear clown masks and party hats, and he'd make ya form a big conga line and spray Joker venom in your faces to make ya laugh and smile. After all, my Puddin' always did put the "fun" in "funeral"," said Harley as she wiped away a tear. "But he's not here with us, because he was taken from us, stolen from me, by the Batman!" she said angrily. "All I ever wanted was to settle down with my Puddin' and live happily ever afta', but my dreams were obliterated three nights ago when the Batman crashed the party and murdered the love of my life. I know none of you liked him, but you can't deny that Batman is the real monster! You!" she shouted as she pointed a finger at one of the men who had spoken. "You were talking about the devil before, well I got news for ya, Batman is the devil!"

Her guards grabbed her by the arms and led her back to her seat as she ranted, "You'll all see! Batman is the one to blame for all our problems! He's the reason we have all these psychos runnin' around, and now that he's killin' people, things are only gonna to get worse for you!"

By the time Harley was placed back in her seat, she had regained control of herself. It was then that the priest said a final prayer and they began to lower the coffin into the ground. But before they could, before her guards could stop her, Harley ran and jumped on top of the coffin.

"Don't put him down there, don't put him down there where he'll be all alone in the dark. Please let me be with him," sobbed Harley. She turned her tearful gaze up to the sky and pleaded, "Please give him back to me! Can't you see I need him? I love him and we're supposed to be together! Give him back and take me instead! Or better yet, take the Batman and give me back the Joker!"

Her guards rushed up and, as they dragged her away, Harley shouted, "I swear on Mistah J's grave that I will avenge him, I will destroy the Batman and make him pay for what he's done, or die trying!"

The priest addressed the crowd and awkwardly said, "Keep the poor woman in your prayers, that she will make a full and speedy recovery."

The Joker's coffin was then lowered into the ground, and Batman turned off the TV. He felt sorry for Harley, and he wondered if she could really be cured after what had happened. He had always believed that she could recover if they could get her away from the Joker, but now that he was dead, he wondered if the fact that he had been taken from her so forcefully would prevent her from healing. If only she had chosen to leave him, then she could heal, but all they could do was hope that she could move on regardless.

The sun was setting outside, and having nothing better to do, he went outside for a walk. As soon as the sun had disappeared completely, the Bat-signal immediately appeared in the sky, calling him for help. He felt a powerful urge to don the cowl once more and help the police, but he couldn't. How could he protect these people if he couldn't control himself? Ever since the first time he had put on the bat-suit, ever since the first time he had captured a criminal, he had struggled with the darkness that had always threatened to consume him. There was a fine line between vigilantism and criminality, and for years he had danced on it. For so long he had stood at the edge of the pit of insanity, gazing down inside but never taking the plunge or letting anyone shove him into it. But now… now he didn't know what to think anymore. He had always felt that temptation to give law-breakers exactly what they deserved, but had always resisted, with much difficulty. But now that temptation was more powerful than ever, he wanted to go out and save the innocent, he wanted to make the monsters who terrorized and tormented Gotham pay for their deeds and to make them feel the pain they had put their victims through, he wanted to end them so that they could never hurt anyone ever again. He had always resisted because he had believed it to be the right thing to do, because he refused to sink down to their level, but now he was beginning to question everything he had ever believed in. That was why he could no longer be the Batman.

Just then, he heard a woman scream. Out of pure instinct he followed the sound. The streets were practically empty, and so chances of anyone coming to her rescue were slim at best. As he ran he pulled out his cell phone to call 911. He soon found the woman, cornered in an alley by some mugger with a knife. Once the man saw him, he drove the blade into the woman's chest and tried to make a run for it. He took chase after the man and easily caught up to him. Once he had caught up he grabbed him and forced him to face him. He immediately recognized him, he was a gangbanger who tortured and raped his women victims and killed them afterwards. How many times had he locked him away, only for him to escape and hurt others?

Holding him in place, Batman considered what he should do with the scum before him. The criminals he locked away always fell into two basic groups: those who learned their lesson the first or second time and gave up crime, and those who refused to learn their lesson and kept coming back for more. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority fell into the latter group. If he brought this man to the police as he had done on several occasions, he would most likely escape again and hurt more women. But if he killed him… No, he refused to even consider it. But try as he might, he did consider it.

He had become Batman because he wanted to save lives and protect the people from the evil that plagued them. He had never killed because he believed it was wrong, and because he hated to see people die. But it suddenly occurred to him that every time he spared these people's lives, every life they took, the blood was on his hands. He was having an epiphany, he could have ended the madness so long ago but hadn't, and he was finally seeing the consequences of his refusal to kill. If he had killed the Joker just one year earlier he could have saved so many lives, and he couldn't even imagine how many he could have saved if he had killed him the first time they had fought, let alone the victims of every other supervillain. And that wasn't even taking into account the lives that had been taken by every other criminal in Gotham. He had become the Batman to put an end to crime, when in reality he had been feeding the disease, ensuring its survival by trying to do what he believed was right.

But no more. He took the man's knife and slit the his throat with it, feeling that same grim satisfaction in knowing that he had just saved many people by sacrificing one man. Even though he was forsaking nearly everything he had once believed in, it didn't matter to him, not anymore. In fact, he felt a great sense of release in knowing that he was finally going to help these people.

He went back to the Batcave and discarded his blood-soaked clothes. He then donned the cowl and cape once more, but this time, he would not be taking them off. For many years he had lived a double-life, and he had always known that he would eventually have to choose one or the other. He had planned to give up the cape at some point and retire, but he realized then that that wasn't a possibility. He needed to focus all of his energy on saving his city, and his former life was just getting in the way. He had been given a job to do, a duty to protect the people who couldn't protect themselves, and so he needed to focus all his efforts on doing whatever was necessary to fulfill the task he had been given. He let his old self die, and was reborn as the Batman once again, except this time, there would be no turning back. He was determined to bring peace to Gotham, and he would stop at nothing to do so.


	3. Chapter 3

Batman stood over Two-Face and stared down at him while pointing a gun at his head. It had been five weeks and so far and he had gone through and killed nearly all of the rogues. It hadn't been very difficult to find them; the Joker's death seemed to have spooked them, and they were afraid he would come for them next. Most had escaped and either went into hiding or went after him trying to kill him. It was ironic, if they had stayed in the asylum he would have left them alone so that they could hopefully regain their sanity, but once they left the Arkham grounds he showed them no mercy.

"You know, when I heard what happened with the Joker, I assumed it was just an accident," said Two-Face as he glared up at him, his men lying dead around him and his body broken. He had been one of the ones who had tried to kill the Bat, but had failed like all the others. "But I see now that you've changed. I don't know what happened to you or why you're suddenly doing this now, but before you kill me, I want to have a say in the matter." He pulled out his special coin and flipped it into the air. Batman caught it and tossed it behind him, angering Dent.

"Luck won't save you, Harvey. You had your chance, and you squandered it time and time again. Despite what you may think, there is no such thing as luck. What and who you are is for you to decide, not a coin. We shape our own destinies, and this is how you've chosen to shape yours. I don't want to do this, but you've given me no choice."

"You don't want to kill me? That's bull and you know it. Admit it, now that you know how it feels to take a life you live for the kill, and even if you didn't, you just want me and the rest of the freaks gone, by any means necessary."

"I'm telling the truth Two-Face, I wish things could be different, but they can't. You were my friend Harvey," said Batman as he pulled off his mask to show him his face.

Two-Face's good eye widened in shock. "No, it can't be… You can't be him…"

"Now you understand how much it pains me to do this," said Batman as he pulled his mask back on. "I'm sorry Harvey."

He pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Harvey's brain. He dropped dead instantly, his expression frozen in disbelief.

Batman left the building he had found Two-Face in, lamenting the loss of the man who had once been a friend. It was times like these when he wanted to quit and give up, but he knew he never could. He had been charged with the duty of protecting his people, and he would not stop until he drew his dying breath.

The sun was about to rise, so he drove back to the Batcave. He had begun coming out in the daytime, but he needed to rest after his fight with Two-Face. Taking out the rogues was never easy, and took a great toll physically and mentally.

As he drove, he went over the list of rogues he had killed in his head. So far he had knocked off Penguin, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Riddler, Mad Hatter…etc. The list had grown quite long, he hoped those that remained would take the hint and not stir up any more trouble.

He returned to the Batcave and went over to the Batcomputer. He checked and made sure that no other super-criminals had broken out of Arkham. Once he had finished, he turned on the morning news, where they were about to replay a debate between Vicki Vale and Jack Ryder from the night before. They were debating whether the Batman was a hero or a menace, with Jack on his side and Vicki against.

"I used to be against the Batman," began Ryder. "I believed that an outlaw vigilante would only make things worse for Gotham. It wasn't until just recently that he won me over. Finally taking a stand against these so-called super-criminals is finally bringing peace to our city."

"But Jack, he's doing it by killing people. Why aren't the police trying to stop him? They always did before, but now they're turning a blind eye just because he's rid us of many of the super criminals. He's not even giving them a chance to repent. I used to support the Batman, but now… I can't bring myself to side with a murderer," countered Vicki.

"I'll admit it's not the ideal solution, but what other choice to we have? These criminals refuse to see reason, they refuse to respect the law, and locking them away just wasn't working. Besides, do you really think those super-criminals could live normal lives? Even if they weren't evil, with their disfigurements and mental illness, criminals like the Joker and Two-Face and Mr. Freeze and so many others could never hope to lead normal lives, so they chose crime. To offer them another chance after they had been given so many other chances would be absurd. Besides, just look at Gotham now. People can feel a little safer in knowing that the biggest threats to their safety are being eradicated."

"Gotham has become a safer place, I myself don't worry as much as I used to about my safety. But what are we willing to sacrifice for safety and peace of mind? Batman is a murderer now, plain and simple. By allowing him to continue we're entrusting a murderer with the fate of our city just so that we can sleep easier at night."

"What do you think will happen? The Batman has always been about protecting people. Sure, he's killing people now, but they deserved it! They believed they could do whatever they wanted and suffer no punishment, but now it's coming to an end."

"Those people did deserve death, but it's not Batman's place to play God and decide who lives and who dies," Vicki countered. "His purpose is to protect and to let us deal out punishments and carry out justice."

"But justice was never carried out. Take the Joker for example. He earned the death penalty hundreds of times over, but he always pleaded insanity and was sent to Arkham Asylum where he could escape again. Our justice system is screwed up, Vicki."

"You make a strong argument Jack, but there's another point to consider. What will happen when Batman has offed all the super villains? Do you really think he'll stop killing? Once they're gone, he'll likely move on to other criminals. First murderers and thieves, then smaller offenses, like drunk-driving or speeding, both of which endanger lives."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" said Jack, a mocking edge to his voice." I mean, you'd have to be crazy to kill people for things like that, and I don't think the Bat is crazy, at least, not anymore."

"It is a stretch, and it would be madness to kill people for things like that. But crime is crime, and even insignificant crimes are still against the law, and I don't think Batman will stop until he's cleaned up Gotham completely. The Batman has a lust for saving lives, and now that he's crossed the line, now that he's taking lives, I don't think he'll ever stop. Just look at all the men throughout history who thought they were doing the right thing when in reality they were doing more harm than good. Hitler, Genghis Kahn, the list goes on and on. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Now, I could be wrong about Batman, and I truly hope that I am, but what I'm trying to say is, don't become complacent. Perhaps Batman is the best thing that has ever happened to this city, or maybe he will be our downfall. Either way, we can't rely on Batman to take care of us, we need to learn to take care of ourselves."

"In my opinion," said Jack. "You either stand behind Batman and support him in his crusade to clean up our city for good, or you stand in front of him and face the bad guys yourself."

Batman turned off the TV, frustrated by what he had seen. Over the past five weeks, most people had supported him, happy to finally be rid of the terrorists in their city. But there had been many who refused to see that he was just trying to help, they kept trying to turn everyone against him simply because he was using drastic measures to save Gotham. Here he was, giving everything up for them, and yet they were bound and determined to see him as the boogeyman.

But Vicki had made him realize something. He needed to start focusing on other criminals, too. Not the ones who drove drunk or too fast, that would be ridiculous. No, he needed to start focusing on the criminals who were overshadowed by super villains but who were dangerous nonetheless. It was easy to forget them in light of criminals like the Joker, but they were still a problem, a threat to his city.

But there was a problem. He was just one man, and although he had been fighting this one-man battle for years, he couldn't deny that he was getting older, and that he wouldn't be able to put an end to all these people by himself. It occurred to him then that he could use the police force. Of course, he knew they wouldn't just help him, they'd sooner lock him up in Blackgate than help him murder criminals. There was also the fact that even if they agree to assist him did they would lose their jobs, or worse. He would have to go to a higher power if he was to get them on his side.

xxxx

That night, Batman snuck into Mayor Quincy Sharp's office. The man jumped and nearly fainted when he saw him.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," he said as he dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?" asked Sharp nervously.

"As you know, I'm trying to bring an end to crime in Gotham, but I can't do it alone. I'm requesting your permission to let the police force assist me."

"What?" Sharp exclaimed. "You can't be serious. Police aiding a vigilante in murdering criminals, it's unheard of, it's unethical. I'm sorry, but I can't give you that kind of power." Trembling, he dared look up at the Dark Knight. "You aren't going to kill me, are you?"

"No, I live to protect the innocent, I only kill those who reject the law. If you choose to turn down my offer, I will understand. I'll find another way and I won't force this on you. Just hear me out, please."

Batman studied the man before him for a moment before speaking. Quincy Sharp was a small, pathetic, ignorant man who was nothing more than a puppet, just waiting for someone to come along and pull the strings. He genuinely wanted to clean up Gotham, but he had no idea how to do it. Batman was sure that he could make him understand why he needed to do this.

"Mayor, I understand why you don't want to do this, because it does sound crazy. But look at the world around you. We have to take extreme measures if we are to take back this city. Grant me my request, and I promise that you can change your mind at any time. I know you want to cleanse this city just as much as I do, and you can. We can make a difference here, if you'll just trust me."

"Normally I wouldn't even be listening to this, but as much as I hate to admit it, you're right. With the death of these super villains, the city doesn't seem quite as dark as it did before, and things are finally looking up. But this city is still out of control, and as mayor it is my responsibility to take a stand against the evil that plagues the people. Batman, starting tomorrow, the Gotham Police Department will be at your disposal. The public won't like it very much, but I believe that taking a stand is more important," said Sharp, sounding almost strong and dignified. "Just one thing Batman, please don't let me down. I have an election coming up soon, and if this goes wrong…"

"I promise this will work. You've made the right decision, you won't regret this."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Batman arrived at the police department to find the place in an uproar. The cops had been notified of their new "management" and, needless to say, they weren't very happy about it. Once they caught sight of him though, they went silent.

"Listen to me," began Batman, making eye contact with each and every one of them. "I know that many of you have some misgivings about working with me. I understand why that would upset you, but I assure you that this is a step in the right direction. Gotham is being reborn, but it's not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. Nearly every super criminal has been eliminated, but Gotham is still full people who refuse to see reason, as you are all well aware. You do not have to help me purge this city of the evil that plagues it, but I urge you to do so."

"Batman, could we talk outside for a moment," said Commissioner Gordon, looking very displeased.

Batman followed him outside the building, bracing himself for what was to come. He thought a lot of Jim Gordon, and he knew that he would not like what the man had to say.

"Why are you doing this?" Jim asked once he had made sure they were alone.

"You know why. It's the only way to stop these people," replied Batman.

"You know full well it is not the only way. Murder is the coward's way out. I mean, what happened to you? I used to look up to you and trust you, but now, I wouldn't even spit in your direction."

Batman flinched at his harsh words. "I am not a coward, Jim. This is the only way to deal with these people and you know it, you're just too narrow-minded to see it. You think I wanted to murder those people? Do you think I enjoy it? No, I do it because no one else will. Why do you think no one has tried to stop me? They used to, but now that things are finally looking up they're all for it. They understand that this must be done, why can't you?"

"It's not just about ridding the city of criminals, it's far more than that. Batman is more than a protector, he's a symbol of hope, that there is good in the world. By not giving into those monster's demands, by not sinking to their level, we showed people that good can triumph over evil. But not just for the people, for the law-breakers too, that they would see that good does exist, and that they had been playing for the wrong side and give up crime. But now that you've sunk down to their level, what do people have to believe in anymore? You're no better than the rest of us, but people still looked up to you. Who will inspire hope and the will to do good in them now? All they'll see is a man who became so desperate to conquer his enemies that he lowered himself to their level, only to become no better than his foes. You may make Gotham safer than ever before, but at what cost? You've taken away the people's hope."

"They are more hopeful than they have ever been before," countered Batman

"What you see isn't hope, it's relief. They're glad to be rid of these criminals, but now that their hero has allowed himself to become compromised, they have nothing to believe in. Batman, when you forsake your morals, the things you believe in, what do you have left? You lose yourself, and it can be nearly impossible to find yourself again."

"You have more reason than anyone to side with me. Think of what the Joker did to your daughter. Think of how he murdered your wife. Those things alone should be enough to convince you that we need to take a stand."

"I see Barbara and Sarah every time I see a victim wounded, or killed. They are always at the back of my mind, but I cannot allow my pain to cloud my judgment. I don't know what it was that made you become the Batman, but I do know that you have allowed it and other circumstances in your life to take control of you. If you quit now, you may be able to save yourself."

"I am in control. For so long I thought I was doing the right thing, but I now realize that I was wrong. Do you know what that's like? To suddenly realize that everything you once believed in was a lie? It's terrible and scary at first, but after a while you learn to move on. I've chosen to leave my mistakes in the past, and to learn from them. It's time you did too."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I can't stop you from doing this, but I will not be a part of it. You can consider this my resignation."

"It's a shame. You're a good man Jim, we could really use you out there. I hope you change your mind."

Jim turned away and said, "Same to you, old friend."

xxxx

Twenty-four hours later, Batman was in the Batcave, reviewing case files of wanted criminals as he ate breakfast.

Fortunately, Jim had been the only cop to refuse to assist him. Every other cop either wanted to join the Bat in his crusade, or they had hungry mouths to feed at home, or both. It didn't matter to him why they chose to stay, as long as they were willing to do the job and were capable of doing it right.

A flashing light appeared on the screen then, alerting him that Oracle was attempting to call. With a sigh, he answered her.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?" she demanded the second he had pressed the button.

"I've been busy," he replied lamely.

"I can't believe you took over the police department, it's taking things a bit far, don't you think?"

"I know it's extreme, but it was necessary."

"And you're going to kill every criminal you come across? That's outrageous! This is wrong!"

"I don't need you to tell me what's right and what's wrong, Oracle."

"Look, I know how you feel. When the Joker took my legs, all I could think about was revenge. Not just because of what he did to me, but that was the main reason. I wanted him dead, but I learned to put aside my anger and to not let it take over. When you killed him, I admit I was happy about it. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from taking pleasure in his death. But this can't continue, you're taking this way too far. I can't help you if you're going to take the law in your hands like this, not in good conscious. I'm sorry.

"I expected as much. Goodbye Oracle."

"Wait don't-" she tried to say, but he turned off the computer before she could finish.

xxxx

Nightwing was in the middle of interrogating a drug dealer when he got the call.

"Excuse me for just a second," said Nightwing to the punk he had shoved against the wall of an alley as he checked his cell phone to see who was calling. When he saw it was Oracle, he knew she wouldn't call in the middle of the night when she knew he was working unless she had a very urgent reason. He knocked the man out and answered his phone.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Can you talk? It's important," she replied, her tone full of anxiety.

"Sure, what about?"

"It's about Batman. Have you seen the news lately? He's started this purge of the city, wiping out criminals, he's even recruited the police to help him. He won't listen to me, and I don't know what to do."

"I haven't heard much, but is it really that bad?"

"It is. Do you think you could come to Gotham and talk to him? Maybe you could make him see reason."

"I will as soon as I can. I've got my hands tied right now, but I'll try to get over there within the next few days or so."

"Good. I can't believe it's come to this. I mean, who would have imagined that Batman would become this? I'm worried, Nightwing."

"Don't worry, I'll knock some sense into him. Everything will be fine. I promise."

xxxx

"I hope you're not in any pain. The doctors said you probably don't feel anything, but I've always been reluctant to believe doctors."

Batman was sitting Selina Kyle's hospital room. He had considered not going as Batman, but had quickly dismissed the idea. He had to keep reminding himself that his old self was dead, and dressing in street clothes wouldn't make the transition any easier.

"I don't know if you can hear me, so I feel kind of silly doing this, but you're the only one I can talk to," said Batman as he held her hand. She had so many tubes hooked up to her, it was hard to see her face. Her hair had been shaved off to treat her wound, and even though she looked horrible, to him she was just as beautiful as ever. "Nearly everyone in Gotham has rallied behind me, but all the people whose opinions matter to me are against me. I feel like you're all I have left anymore." He felt his eyes water as he said, "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I let that madman hurt you. If I had only killed him sooner, this never would have happened. I wish you would wake up, you don't know how much I miss you, how much I love you."

"You really care about her, don't you?" asked the nurse attending Selina, her face obscured by a surgical mask.

He blinked the tears away and regained his composure. There could be no weakness in Batman, he had to be strong for his people. "I'm leaving, let me know if her condition changes."

"Oh, I'm afraid her condition is about to change pretty drastically," said the woman as she ripped off her mask, revealing herself to be Harley Quinn. Before Batman could stop her, she pulled out a gun and pointed it at Selina. If she had been pointing the gun at him, he would have taken the risk and tried to take it from her, but he couldn't risk Selina's life like that.

"I know Mistah J already did the whole fake nurse thing, but it seemed the best way to go," said Harley as she grinned devilishly. "Did ya hear the news? I was released from Arkham a couple weeks ago. Turns out I can fake sanity pretty well, I was a psychiatrist after all, and who could fake sanity better than an ex-doctor? I convinced 'em I had moved on from Mistah J and that I had forgiven you for your unforgiveable crime. I was gonna just shoot ya, but the punishment's gotta fit the crime, ya know? Since you took the thing that I loved most, I'm gonna take what you love most. But you're a hard man to figure out, and I wasn't sure if Catwoman is really who you love most, but I figure she's close enough. Now of course there's no way you could possibly love her as much as I loved my Puddin', so there's no way this can make you hurt like I hurt, but I can at least give you a taste of my pain before I kill you."

"Harley, listen to me," pleaded Batman. "You have a chance at a normal life. Leave now and I'll let you live, but do this, and I will kill you."

"You know what's funny? I tried to live a "normal" life, just to see if I could do it. I rented an apartment, got a job as a waitress, and even got asked out by some loser. And you know what? I couldn't take it. I can't have a "normal" life. But I can't be a villainess anymore, either. A few nights ago I broke into the Gotham museum and stole the Harlequin diamond to try to cheer myself up. I escaped the cops and brought it home, but it just wasn't the same without my Puddin' there to have fun with me. My life is pointless and humorless without him and I can't go on like this, but before I die, I have one last job to do for Mistah J. I swore I would kill you or die trying. Only one of us will come out of this alive, and I couldn't care less who lives and who dies!"

Harley fired the gun at the machine keeping Selina alive, and she immediately flat-lined.

"No!" yelled Batman as he ran at Harley and took the gun from her. He pointed it at her, but before he could pull the trigger, she threw herself at him, knocking him off balance and sending them both through the window. As they fell from the third floor, Harley pulled out a knife and drove the blade into his chest, laughing hysterically as she did so.

"See you in Hell, Bat-brain," giggled Harley just before they made impact with the pavement.

Batman's body exploded with pain, he couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He felt himself dying and willed himself to live, but he was powerless to do anything. Ironic really, the Caped Crusader had saved so many lives, yet he could not save himself. The pain in his body seemed to slowly fade away as he was swallowed up by the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Batman awoke very suddenly, as if from a long and deep sleep, and had the strangest feeling that he was underwater. He soon realized, however, that he _was_ underwater, and couldn't breathe. He struggled and swam towards the surface, quickly running out of oxygen. He finally broke through the surface and greedily sucked in air. He looked around at his surroundings, and saw that he was in some kind of green water. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't water at all.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, my Beloved," he heard someone say.

He swam to shore, and once he was out of the pool and saw the woman who had spoken, he began to put the pieces together.

"Talia, was I just in the Lazarus Pit?" he asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, you were."

"Was I… was I dead?"

"Yes, you were dead, but you have been brought back. How do you feel?"

"I feel… younger, stronger," he said as looked down at his hands. He was no longer in the batsuit, he realized, and saw that his skin was like new. Every blemish, every scar had been healed. He also felt powerful, more powerful than ever before. "I've never felt so alive, but I also feel strange, different. I can't explain it, but it's like I'm seeing the world in a whole new way, like my eyes have been opened for the first time. It's disorienting."

"That is understandable, considering what you have been through. Tell me, what do you remember of the afterlife?"

He tried to remember what had happened before he had woken up in the Lazarus Pit, but all he could remember was the excruciating pain, and succumbing to the darkness. He could remember nothing of what had happened after he had died. "I can't remember anything."

"That's what they all say, I had hoped you would be different," huffed Talia.

"So you saved me?"

"Yes. The fates were smiling on you today, because had I not been at the hospital not only you would still be dead, but your secret identity would have been revealed to the whole world, as well. I am not sure if the clown girl's revenge counts as a victory because you are alive again, and I'm not sure if it was the knife or the fall that killed you, but either way she did in fact kill you. The fall did not kill her though, for I am sure she's suffered worse, so once she made sure you were dead she took the knife from your body and stabbed herself in the heart. You should have seen the commotion you caused, there were people everywhere trying to get a good look at your face. I almost wasn't able to save you from them, your identity was very nearly compromised. I even heard one or two people talking about stealing your batsuit and selling it on the internet. Fortunately for you Damian and I were at the hospital, he broke his wrist training a few weeks ago and we were having the cast removed."

"How is Damian?"

"He is well, he is still upset at you for sending him back to me. He really enjoyed being your sidekick as Robin, you know."

"You know as well as I do that he wasn't ready."

"I do, but he has grown, perhaps now you could give him another chance."

"I'll consider it." He paused, then asked, "And Selina Kyle? Is she okay?"

"I am sorry my love, but they could not save her. She died only minutes after you did. But it is better this way, I am sure she would rather be dead than trapped in an endless slumber."

"I suppose you're right," said Batman, feeling a wave of sorrow wash over him. "Why did you revive me?" he asked miserably.

"Because I believed the manner in which you died was not fitting of the hero that you are. It was very disappointing, really. A mad woman avenging her dead love your downfall? She got lucky, she should not have been able to kill you. It was insulting to your legacy, so I thought I would give you a chance to do better. You should be thanking me, you should have heard the things the crowd was saying about you. You and your legacy as the Batman would have been the laughing stock of Gotham forever. At least now you have a chance to redeem yourself."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?"

"A little. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"And what exactly would qualify as a proper death?"

She shrugged and said, "I am not quite sure, but I'm certain that you will not let me down this time."

"Does your father know about this?"

"No, nor does he need to know."

"Talia, you shouldn't have done this. You knew I never wanted to use the Lazarus Pit, you know I don't want to live forever, so what was your real reason for doing this? Giving me a chance at a proper death just isn't enough, you must have some ulterior motive."

"Because I love you, and because I have seen what you have been doing for this city, and I had hoped that you would reconsider accepting my father's offer."

"If you had asked me that two months ago I would have turned you down again, but so much has changed so quickly. I don't know Talia, it's tempting, but I don't think it would be right for me to take his place as the head of the League of Assassins. I'm not the right man for the job."

"My father chose you himself, and he is not a fool. He believes in you, as do I. Think about it Beloved, the entire League at your disposal. They are far more powerful than the Gotham police, think of all the good you could do. And not only that, but you would also have the power of the Lazarus Pit. Someday you will die, and then what? All the good you have done and will do would be undone. You have brought Gotham's crime rate lower than anyone thought possible, but turn your back for one second and it would go right back to the way it was before. Gotham can't keep evil at bay, only you can do that, and with you gone evil would take over once again. But with the Lazarus Pit, that would not be a problem. You could protect Gotham for centuries, and if you ever wanted to retire, you would have all of eternity to find a suitable replacement."

Batman opened his mouth to explain why he couldn't, but she silenced him with a kiss.

"And best of all, we could finally be together," she said softly as she pulled away. "Think of it, the two of us, cleansing this city and the world together. Damian needs his father, and I need you. You have no reason not to accept."

He knew that what she was saying was true, that he really did have no reason to turn her down. He loved her and Damian, and with the League of Assassins and the Lazarus Pit, he would be unstoppable. The police could only do so much, but now a world of possibilities had opened up for him. He kissed her back passionately and then said, "I accept. I will take your father's place as the head of the League of Assassins, and I want you to be by my side. Talia, will you marry me?"

She smiled and said, "I thought you would never ask."

xxxx

That night, Batman, Talia, and Damian went to Ra's al Ghul's mansion in Gotham. When they told him what had happened, he was surprised but very pleased.

"So you have finally seen the light, have you Detective?" asked Ra's.

"I have sir. I am ready to become your heir, and to take Talia as my wife."

"Wonderful. Well then, let's get to work. Talia, go find something nice to wear and Damian, go make yourself presentable. Detective, I would offer to loan you something of mine to wear, but I think the batsuit will do nicely."

"What are you talking about, Father?" asked Talia, confused.

"The ceremony, of course. You must look your best, for tonight will be the most important night of our lives."

"Father, we cannot get married tonight, we haven't even discussed anything yet. These things take time-"

"Nonsense, the sooner the better. Get ready, we shall have the ceremony in one hour."

Ra's left the room to prepare, and Damian muttered, "Gee, you'd think after six hundred years he would have learned some patience."

"Go change your clothes Damian, and when you come down those stairs I expect to see a gentleman," said Talia.

"Then you'll be waiting a very long time. I think I'll come down naked just to see the look on your and Grandfather's faces," announced Damian as he went up the stairs.

Talia sighed exasperatedly and said, "Well, I suppose we might as well do this now. Maybe tonight I will finally have you all to myself for once."

"Are you nervous about this? You do know what you're marrying, after all," he warned.

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

Talia left then to prepare for the wedding, and Batman was left alone with his thoughts. He felt guilty about marrying Talia when Selina had died only hours before. He loved them both so much, and because of that he sometimes wished he had never met either of them. They had brought a bit of joy into his dark existence, but for their sakes he wished their paths had never crossed with his. But that was in the past, and not marrying Talia wouldn't bring Selina back. If there was one thing he had learned from losing so many loved ones, it was how to survive. Although he missed Selina dearly, he knew he had to try to move on and forget her. He still had work to do, and he could not let the tragedy of her death become a stumbling block. He needed Talia, and he was sure that Selina wouldn't mind. She would want him to be happy, and even though the prospect of happiness for him was slim at best, perhaps he could have something like happiness with Talia.

xxxx

"And do you Talia, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" asked Ra's.

"I do," said Talia as she held Batman's hands in hers.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Batman had kissed Talia several times before, but this particular one took his breath away. He had never believed he could be with a woman and still be able to keep up with his duties as Batman, but with Talia, that would no longer be a problem.

Talia pulled away beaming, and left him to stand by Damian, who whispered, "Shouldn't you guys have done this _before_ I was conceived?"

"Pay attention my son," Talia whispered back. "What you are about to see will be difficult to watch, but you must not look away. Today is the most important day of our lives, in more ways than one."

"Detective," began Ra's as Batman kneeled at his feet. "Or perhaps I should call you son now. Either way, you are now one of us. Do you swear to do whatever you must to save this world from the corruption that is consuming it?"

"I will, sir."

"Then I hereby pass on my title as head of the League of Assassins to you." Ra's then drew his sword and gave it to him. "You are now in control of the entire League of Assassins, show them this sword and they will obey your every command without question, even if it means laying down their own lives. Whatever you do do not misuse this power. Now, to complete the ceremony, you know what you must do. Do it, and all my power will become yours."

Batman took a deep, steadying breath and readied the sword, then drove it through Ra's heart. He then pulled the blade back out, letting Ra's collapse to the floor. Talia rushed over and knelt down by her father's body and cradled his head in her hands.

"It is done," she said as she wiped away a tear. "We shall bring peace to this world, now we can finally be together, as a family."

xxxx

Later that night, Batman and Talia lay in bed, enjoying their wedding night.

"I don't think I have ever been as happy as I am now," said Talia as she snuggled closer to her new husband. "Do you feel the same?"

"I think I do," he said as he kissed her head. "How does Damian feel about all this? This can't be easy for him."

"He is taking it quite well. He is only eleven, but he is strong, and he understands why we must do these things. He seemed excited, to say the least, when I told him you would let him be Robin again. You are going to be such a wonderful father."

"You know, with the League on my side, I don't think I'll need the police's help anymore. They helped me take down Zsasz a few days ago and a few other crooks, but I don't think they'll be up to the next task I have in mind."

"Please Beloved, can't we discuss this tomorrow? Can we not forget the world for one night?"

"You know I can't do that."

"Okay then, tell me what you have planned. Knowing you, it will be beyond brilliant," she said as she snuggled closer to him.

"Four days ago one of the patients in Arkham, a man thought to be safe and harmless, snapped and murdered three doctors and six other patients. It got me to thinking that it's about time I did something about the Arkham situation, as well as Blackgate. I'm going to have Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary destroyed, along with everyone inside. The way I see it, we have no need of those institutions any longer."

"My, that is a big step up for you. The Lazarus Pit really did the trick, did it not? Oh, I cannot wait to see you fix the world, it will be so perfect. If only father could be here to see it, he would be so proud of you, I'm sure. Goodnight, my love," she said as she kissed him one last time.

xxxx

The next morning, Talia summoned all of the League of Assassins to Ra's mansion, and they arrived three days later. There were dozens of them, some higher in rank than others. None of them knew the reason why they had been summoned, only that it was very important that they be there.

"Greetings, brethren," said Talia, getting their attention. "I know you are all wondering why you are here, and I know you are all wondering where my father is. I summoned you all here to tell you that Ra's al Ghul is dead, and will not be revived."

Everyone in the crowd began to murmur excitedly, wondering what this would mean for the League.

"But before he died, he chose his successor. He chose, the Batman."

Batman, who had not yet shown himself to the assassins, revealed himself then. The assassins shouted in outrage.

"What was Ra's thinking!" called out one man. "How can the Batman lead us if he is incapable of doing what is necessary? Everyone knows the Bat refuses to kill, so how can he be expected to lead us in the fight to bring peace to the world?"

Batman drew out Ra's sword and held it high for them all to see. They all went silent when they saw it.

"The man you speak of no longer exists. I have seen the error of my ways, and I now understand what I must do to save those who need me. I killed Ra's only a few nights ago after he appointed me as head of the League of Assassins, and he gave me all of his power. You are all under my authority, and you will obey my every command, or you can leave now. Make your choice."

In response, the assassins all bowed before their new master.

"Very good, you've made the right choice," said Batman as he lowered the sword. "Now, I have already begun to purify this city of criminals, but it is not enough. Because law-breakers are no longer tolerated, I believe that institutions such as Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison are no longer necessary. Tomorrow, I will destroy Arkham and Blackgate. I will destroy both institutions and everyone inside, but if for some reason I am unable to, it will be up to you to wipe them all out. Do you understand?"

"Yes master," they all said in unison.

"Excellent. You will all remember tomorrow as long as you live, for tomorrow will be a great day for the people of Gotham, the beginning of an era of peace and freedom. Gotham will never be the same again, we will make sure of it. Do not disappoint me."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day at twilight, Batman and Robin stood before Arkham, preparing to blow up the asylum and the prison. They had rigged both buildings to explode, and the bombs were set to explode in less than two minutes.

"This stops now," said a voice from behind them.

Batman turned and saw that it was Nightwing. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to stop you. Do you have any idea how many people you're about to kill?"

"It's better this way. The only people that will be killed will be prisoners and mental patients, people beyond hope. I'm putting them out of their misery, and making a difference in this city."

"And what about all the doctors, and guards? The innocent people that will be blown up with them?"

"Every war has its casualties," said Batman indifferently.

"What's happened to you?" asked Nightwing in disbelief. "You used to value life, but now it's like you don't care anymore."

"I do care, I'm just looking at the big picture. Everyone has a role to play in the fate of the world, and the innocent who die today will not die in vain."

"I won't let you do this."

"Go back to Blüdhaven, ya wannabe superhero," spat Robin. "My dad knows what he's doing, and he's not about to let you get in the way. My dad's about to do more good in one day than you will in your entire life."

"Quiet Robin," ordered Batman. "But he is right you know. You could do so much good Nightwing, you could help us cleanse this city."

"That's what I'm trying to do, but what you're about to do is mass-murder. This isn't right! You need to stop this now before more people get hurt."

"Um, Dad, shouldn't the asylum have exploded by now?" asked Robin, confused.

Batman realized that he was right, that the bomb hadn't gone off. He looked to Nightwing angrily, knowing he was behind this.

"After I figured out what you were doing, I had the police disarm the bombs. It wasn't easy to convince them, because they still think you're their hero, but not anymore," said Nigthwing triumphantly.

Without a word, Batman pressed a button on his utility belt, signaling the assassins to strike. They had split into two groups and had been waiting for him to give the signal just in case, so it didn't take them long to begin the purge.

Nightwing didn't know about the assassins, so it took him until the screaming began to realize what was going on. "What have you done!" he shouted as he tried to run for the asylum, but Batman grabbed him by the arm and held him back.

"It's too late for them, if you go in there you'll only be killed along with everyone else. There's nothing you can do," said Batman.

"The police were still in there! All those people are being slaughtered like animals while you just stand by and watch!" screamed Nightwing. "You're a monster! You're no better than the criminals you've killed!"

Batman connected his fist with Nightwing's jaw as he said, "Never say that again. I'm the only one in this world who's willing to do what's necessary to save these people, _I am not a monster_. Leave Gotham now, this is my city, and as long as you oppose me you are not welcome here."

Batman released his hold on him. Nightwing wiped the blood off his mouth as he glared at his old mentor and said bitterly, "I used to look up to you, you know. I always wanted to be just like you."

Nightwing then turned and disappeared as the piercing screams continued. Batman watched him go, knowing this was far from over.

xxxx

One week later Oracle agreed to meet Nightwing in an old warehouse. The warehouse had once been used by the Scarecrow as a hideout, so she wondered why on earth he would want her to meet him there.

Never in her life had she felt as helpless as she did then. Even the time when the Joker had shot and paralyzed her hadn't been as bad as this, because as least then she had had hope. But now, things were worse than ever before, and she knew it was only going to get worse.

When Batman had ordered the purge of the asylum and the prison, there had been a lot of people who had stood behind him and believed he had done the right thing. But most of the people had been horrified and outraged that he would do such a thing, to say the least. Given the state of things, they probably would have justified it somehow just because both institutions were filled with undesirables. But with the murder of so many cops, guards, and doctors, the people began to finally see that the Batman was no longer their knight in shining armor, but a wolf in sheep's clothing. At least, that's how she'd heard it put on the news, and frankly, she couldn't argue with that. She regretted encouraging him to continue crime fighting after he had killed the Joker, perhaps if she and Nightwing had tried to stop him from crime-fighting, none of this would have happened. But that was nonsense, she knew. How could they have known that the man they looked up to would become a completely different person, how could they have known that he would become the enemy? She felt guilty, because even though she knew it wasn't their fault and that there was nothing they could've done, he had been their friend, and they had let him down.

Nightwing met her outside and helped her get inside. Once they were inside, she was surprised to see that the place was packed with people.

"What's going on here?" she asked curiously.

"We're creating an army," he said, as though that cleared everything up. He turned to the crowd and shouted, "All right everyone, listen up! Quiet down!"

It took several minutes to get everyone to listen. When he had their attention, Nightwing began to speak. "We're all here today for one reason, to stop the Batman. As you are all aware, he has always worked outside the law, but now he's taken things too far. Not only is he using murder to try to clean up our streets, but he's got the entire League of Assassins on his side. If we don't do something, things will only get worse. Countless lives were taken only a few days ago, many of them cops and people just trying to help others. He had no right to take any of those lives, even the prisoners and the mental patients. It's up to me, and it's up to you, normal everyday citizens, to take a stand. It won't be easy, and we could all be killed, so the choice is yours whether or not you are willing to stand up and fight."

"And just how are we supposed to stop him when it's never even been done before? No one can stop the Bat, no one," said a man from the crowd.

"I admit it will be difficult, no one ever said it wouldn't be, but what choice do we have? Like I said before, Batman ordered the slaughter of so many people a few days ago, and many of them were innocent. How long before he begins murdering citizens like you? He wants to protect you, but if he believes murder is necessary, he'll find a way to justify it."

"Theoretically, say we were able to stop the Bat," piped up a young woman. "What would we do with him? Lock him in a cage and hope he doesn't escape? Or do we kill him once and for all?"

"We will not resort to murder to stop any of these people," said Oracle, to which the people protested. "If we kill them to show them killing is wrong, what have we accomplished? It is up to the justice system to sentence death, it is not our place to end lives. If we do this we'll be the vigilantes, and as you all know it is not a vigilante's right to kill, only to protect. Otherwise we would be no better than them. If you do not agree with that, then leave now. But if you want to help and do it our way, then stay and fight with us."

A few of the people left immediately, but most just stood there, unsure of what to do. It was understandable, given the fact that they would be fighting against impossible odds. After a minute or two though, a young girl who couldn't have been older than twelve stepped forward.

"I want to help. I know I'm just a kid, but I want to do all that I can. I have personal reasons for wanting Batman put in his place, and I'll do whatever I can to see that he's taken down."

After that, it was like the floodgates had been opened. Nearly everyone in the crowd agreed to fight the Batman despite the danger.

A couple hours passed with Nightwing detailing his first plan of action. Afterwards, the everyone in the crowd left, except for the little girl who had spoken before.

"I want to help," she told Nightwing and Oracle. "Batman has Robin, and I want to be your sidekick."

Oracle opened her mouth to protest, but Nightwing said, "It wouldn't be easy, are you sure you're up to the task?"

"I know I am," she said confidently.

"What's your name, kid?" asked Nightwing.

"Olivia Reed. But call me Huntress."

"Huntress was the name of another vigilante, who died a few years ago," said Oracle, wondering why the girl had chosen that name.

"I know, but I admired her, and still do," said Olivia. "So can I be your sidekick?"

"Are your parents okay with this?" asked Oracle.

"They're dead. I've been living with my grandfather for some time now, and he won't mind. Please, please let me do this, I want it more than anything else in the world."

"I'll think about it," said Nightwing. Olivia seemed disappointed, and she left, leaving Oracle and Nightwing alone.

"You're not actually considering letting her be your sidekick, right?" Oracle asked.

"Why not? The kid wants to help, I say we let her help."

"But she could get hurt, or killed."

"That didn't stop Batman from taking me in. I think she needs this, just like I needed it when I was her age. Times are tough, maybe this will give her hope."

"Maybe," said Oracle. "How did you get all these people to come here? And without Batman finding out."

"I have a lot of connections, and people are finally waking up. These people were just waiting for someone to lead them into battle. And Batman used to be my mentor, and so I know how his mind works. It's not easy, but I know how to get around without him noticing."

"Do you really think we can do this? I feel like we're fighting a battle that's already been lost."

"Maybe, but I can't just sit around while Batman self-righteously murders people that don't meet his standards. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, but it will get better."

"I can't believe it's come to this. He was our friend, and now he's a total stranger," said Oracle sadly. "You know, when the Joker took my legs, all I could think about was revenge. I wanted him dead. Same with Jason, and everyone else he's killed. I wanted him to die, I wanted to be the one to kill him, but Batman helped me look past my pain and move on. He never let me give up, but now that he's become this, I don't know what to believe in anymore."

"I know what you mean. When I was a kid I never could understand why he let those people live. I hate to admit it, but I thought it was because he was weak. But as I grew older, I began to understand why he did it, or thought I did anyway, I didn't really learn until just recently. He's lived amongst the shadows for so long, and when he gave in he became completely consumed by it. He taught me so much… it's hard to stick by what you believe in when the very person who taught it to you quits believing in it."

"It just shows how close we all are to crossing that line, it's scary, you know? I mean, if Batman can become corrupted, anyone can. He wasn't perfect, but he was a symbol of hope and justice, but now he's just a symbol of death and corruption. All it took was one bad day to make him like this, it's like one bad day is the only thing keeping us from becoming monsters. It makes me wonder if there is any good in the world."

"Don't say that, everything will turn out fine, I promise. We'll help him to see the error of his ways, we'll bring him back to us, hopefully before too much blood is spilt."


	7. Chapter 7

**Ten years later**

Ten years had passed since Batman had first broken his oath, and in those short ten years the city had been turned upside down. There was no longer a police force, only the assassins. Although Batman technically hadn't taken Mayor Sharp's place, it was still understood that he was in charge. His mission was still to bring peace and to protect the people, but there wasn't a single crime that he couldn't kill you for if he believed you were a danger to the rest of the people. Whether your death was decided by Batman or an assassin, any crime could result in death. For Batman, it depended on the crime, how many times you had broken the law before, and how big a threat you posed to the city. But for the assassins it all depended on what kind of mood they happened to be in at that particular moment. Despite the desperate need for intervention, because crime had nearly been eradicated in the city the president had left Gotham alone, and would only act if Batman's actions began to threaten the nation as a whole. The only shred of hope the people had left was Nightwing and the White Knights.

Nightwing didn't like the name very much, but it had been given to them by the media and it had stuck. The White Knights were a small group and had virtually no power against Batman. For the most part, all they could do was speak out against the Bat and secretly try to increase their numbers. Nightwing knew that if they could just get the rest of Gotham to join them, they could take down the Bat and the League once and for all, but getting everyone else to join them was proving to be extremely difficult, if not downright impossible. He couldn't blame them; these people had families to protect, and they could lose their lives if they tried to take a stand. If you wanted to survive, all you really had to do was watch yourself and make sure not to slip up. If you kept your head down, didn't protest, and made sure to keep the law, you were left alone, and that's what most people did.

That day, Olivia was making a speech to the city and once again requesting help from the government, an act that could get her killed right where she stood. She was wearing a bullet-proof vest, and Nightwing stood right by her side in case he needed to defend her. He had no idea if they would try to kill her or leave her alone; they could kill her easily of course, but he knew they were reluctant to do so because it was well known that she was one of the White Knight's leaders and they were afraid she would be considered a martyr and inspire Gotham to act, so for the most part they had left her alone. They would attack at her indirectly instead, killing others they suspected were Knights to try to make her stop protesting by making her feel guilty and responsible for their deaths.

He would have been speaking in her place, but she was the better speaker, and because no one knew that she was the vigilante Huntress at night, they trusted her more than him. In fact, they barely trusted him at all just because he was a vigilante like Batman. The only reason he was still alive was because Batman had ordered the assassins to not kill him. He wondered how long this grace period would last.

"The time to act is now, the city is collapsing in on itself and cannot stand much longer," said Olivia to anyone who was brave enough to stay and listen to her. "No city can function and thrive under these conditions, our city lives in greater fear than it did even in the time of the rogues. Mr. President, please help us. Don't let this man control us any longer."

At that moment, a bullet whizzed past Olivia's head by barely an inch. Nightwing leapt into action, grabbing her and pulling her out of harm's away. They ran as screams broke out as several assassins gave chase after them.

"You know, I didn't need you to try to rescue me like that," said Olivia as they ran. "I've been your sidekick for a decade, I've learned how to defend myself."

"I know, but I keep forgetting that. I'll never get used to being a mentor, and I'll never be able to accept in my head that you aren't that scrawny eleven year old anymore, so you might as well get used to it."

They found their getaway car and floored the gas and sped out of there.

"You think I did any good today?" she asked as she checked behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. For the moment, they were safe.

"We can only hope, but I doubt it. Seeing the glass as half-full gets harder to do every day."

Just then, one of their tires was shot out and they were forced to leave the car and run. Out of nowhere, twelve assassins appeared in front of them while at least twenty ran at them from the back.

"There's more of them," murmured Olivia as she stood back-to-back with Nightwing, preparing to fight. "They've never attacked just the two of us with numbers like this before."

"Batman's been recruiting just as much as we have, if not more so. He gives the real criminals a choice, serve or die. It's not hard to guess which they pick."

The assassins attacked, and though they were far outnumbered, they fought back as hard as they could. Olivia wished she were in her Huntress costume, at least that way she could take some of these guys out without anyone becoming suspicious. She hated that she could not go as Huntress all the time as Nightwing did, but his reasons were better than hers. He had no life to return to in Gotham now, and as he had said many times before, "Be glad you still have a secret identity, it's not easy being "super" all the time." Maybe he was right, but at least as Huntress she knew she was making a difference, instead of making unhelpful speeches as Olivia.

Fighting back was becoming more and more difficult for Nightwing. To fight so hard with hardly anything to show for it, most of the time he wondered if it would be best to just give up and give in, like Batman had. Like right now, as he bashed two Assassins heads together, he knew there was no way he and Olivia could win this fight, not without killing these men. The only time he had wanted to kill this badly was when Jason had been so brutally murdered. Even though he could barely resist the temptation, he was still strong enough to fight it. The only thing that kept him from crossing that line was the people of this city who so desperately needed people like him, people who were willing to put everything on the line to bring justice. He wanted to help these people, but he would not take the dark and bloody path Batman had taken. Someone had to save this city, and the job had fallen to him, and he would not give in.

Olivia couldn't fight anymore, there were too many assassins. Every time she took one out there was another to take its place. Just then, she saw a large group of people join the fight and attack. They ranged in age from not much older than her to a woman who had to be at least seventy. The assassins were caught off guard, which gave her and Nightwing an opportunity to gain the advantage.

Within minutes, all of the assassins had been knocked out. Done risking their lives, all the people who had had a part in taking them down rushed off as soon as their work was done. Olivia turned to leave, but as she did so, one of the assassins, who had only pretended to be unconscious, fired a bullet at her head. Nightwing had watched him pull out his gun and fire it, and had just enough time to shove Olivia out of the way, taking the bullet in the process.

"No! Nightwing!" screamed Olivia. She ran over to the man who had shot him and grabbed his gun and knocked him unconscious with it. She then dropped the gun and ran over to where Nightwing lay dying.

"Olivia," whispered Nightwing weakly. "You need to get out of here. Run, before they catch you."

"I won't leave you behind, I'll go get help," said Olivia, tears running down her face.

"It's too late, and if you don't get out of here they'll kill you too, and what will become of the White Knights then? You have to stop him, Olivia. It's up to you to fight this war, you can do it. I've seen you fight, you can bring down the Bat. Now go, get out of here."

Olivia had been about to protest, but she knew it would be stupid to argue. He was right, someone had to lead the White Knights, the small group of rebels would fall apart without someone to guide them and encourage them to take a stand. The burden rested solely on her shoulders, and she would not disappoint her fallen mentor.

xxxx

It took a little while for the assassins to wake up. Out of fear no one had dared go anywhere near them. The first to wake up was a man named Alejandro, a former crook who had recently been recruited. He sat up, feeling a bit dazed but otherwise okay. He was surprised that so many people had fought back today, it wasn't a good sign. He was just glad they didn't have the guts to kill, otherwise he'd be dead.

Another newbie, a man named Jackson, awoke next. Alejandro saw Nightwing's corpse lying in a pool of blood just a few feet from them, and he realized that it had been Jackson who had fired the bullet that had ended his life.

"Jackson, do you know what you did?" he asked him incredulously. "You just killed Nightwing!"

"This is not good," said Jackson, his tone worried. "Batman specifically said not to kill him, and I killed him. What do you think he'll do to me?"

"Probably nothing, after all, it's about time someone offed him. He gave that order like ten years ago, things have changed. He's been nothing but a pain and an obstacle for over a decade, I'd say this is long overdue. You'll probably get rewarded or something."

"Yeah, yeah this is sure to get me in good with the boss, it'll get me some respect with the other assassins. I just won a huge victory for the Bat, just imagine what'll happen to the Knights now without their leader."

"Exactly, which is why I have to kill you," said Alejandro as he pointed his gun at him. Jackson raised his hand, as though he could somehow stop the bullet with it, as Alejandro fired a shot that went through his hand and into his chest. He walked over to the dead vigilante and removed his mask. The face was a bit familiar, but he had no idea who the man was. He put the mask back on and carried the body away as the others began to awaken. He hadn't wanted to kill Jackson, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and he wasn't about to let it slip by and go to someone else.

xxxx

Batman stood in Ra's former study, gazing out at his city. It had been a difficult ten years, but he felt he had made Gotham a much better place. The only problem was the White Knights. They were a weak and tiny colony of rebels, but they were powerful all the same. Powerful because more and more people joined them every day, and they had the potential to overpower even him.

He heard a knock on the door. "Enter," he said.

Damian came through the door and said, "Dad, a there's a man here who claims to have killed Nightwing."

Batman's eyes widened in shock and he felt as though the air had been knocked out of him. He couldn't lose Nightwing, not like this.

"Send him in," Batman barely managed to say.

Damian ushered a young man into the room, with Nightwing's body slung over his shoulder. He laid the body on the floor and looked up expectantly, like a dog who has dug up a bone and proudly shows it off to his master.

"You killed Nightwing?" asked Batman quietly, fighting to keep his composure. "You, and not someone else?"

The man swallowed and said, "I killed him, sir."

"Didn't I give direct orders for him to be spared, or did you not hear me? Or perhaps you thought I was joking when I ordered him to be left alive."

"B-But sir, I've dealt the Knights a massive blow, they can't hope to recover from this. Is that worth nothing?" asked Alejandro defiantly and nervously.

In response, Batman drew Ra's sword and threw it through the man's neck. Before he could collapse, Batman went over and grabbed him by his shirt collar and growled in his ear, "Something you should have learned a long time ago, disobedience is not tolerated in my city."

xxxx

That night, Batman lay in bed with Talia as she tried to soothe his pain.

"It was meant to be, my love," she whispered. "You knew this day would come, and it is better this way, the Knights have been severely weakened."

"But he was my son, Talia," said Batman with utter anguish. "He might have joined me, given enough time."

"You know he never would have, he was too stubborn to see the truth. He insisted on being your enemy, and now he has payed the price. You must move on, you cannot let his death become a distraction."

"I know it's better this way, and that we won a major victory today, but you don't understand. Try to imagine someone murdering Damian, how you would feel."

"You are right, I can't understand, but I am here for you. We will get through this together, Beloved. We are winning this war, we cannot stop now."

"You're right. You know, I've been thinking of extending our reach outside Gotham. Gotham isn't the only place plagued by evil, and now that we're recruiting so many new assassins, I think we should start targeting the rest of the United States."

"But what about the White Knights, and the government? The second you spread your reach the government will strike back, and that will strengthen the Knights resolve."

"We have so many assassins now that that won't be a problem. The assassins can take care of the soldiers, and I'm going to have Damian try to infiltrate the White Knights and bring them down from the inside so that I can wipe them out. This won't be easy, but we can do this. We'll make them see that what we are doing is right."

"That is a wonderful plan, my darling. My dreams of the three of us living in a perfect world will be realized, I know it."

_**Authors Notes:**__ To the person who left the comment saying that I must be a Talia fan and that my depiction of Batman is awful, I just want to say that I am not a Talia fan, the reason I'm using and depicting her in this way is that it works better with the overall story. And about my depiction of Batman, I know it's not the best but there is a reason for how I've portrayed him, once again it's all part of the story. I know there are some things in this story that don't make sense right now, but that was done on purpose, for reasons you'll see later. Keep reading and by the time the story is over you'll understand, I promise. Thanks for reviewing though, I appreciate feedback good or bad, and I always want to know if you guys like my stories or not, so that hopefully I can improve in my writing._


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a long time since Damian had ventured outside in his street clothes. He preferred the Robin costume, it had a way of scaring the crap out of people, criminal or no.

It had taken him a month to prepare for the task before him. He had wanted to start immediately, but his father had insisted that he prepare, and that they wait for just the right moment. He was trying to infiltrate the White Knight's secret headquarters, which would be no easy task. He figured he could start a riot in the street, that seemed to be right along the lines of how the Knights fought their battles. He had gone through a few of his sources and had a pretty good idea of where to search, and he liked to believe he had inherited his father's detective abilities, so he didn't think it would take him very long to find these people.

He couldn't believe his luck when he saw Huntress saving a teenager from an assassin. He wondered what the kid had done, but he didn't really care that much.

After Huntress saved the kid (leaving the assassin alive of course, and the Whitey Tighties wondered why they were losing) she took off, with Damian in pursuit. Despite Damian's attempts at stealth, it didn't take long for him to get caught.

She turned around and grabbed him before he could even think about moving. "Who are you and why are you following me?"

"My name is Damian, and I want to join the White Knights. I was following you because I didn't know what to do or where to go," said Damian, keeping his tone calm and controlled.

Huntress seemed wary of his story, but she had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not, so she allowed him to follow her.

She silently led him to an old abandoned warehouse. Once inside, Damian was surprised by the amount of people. "It seems I'm not the only newbie, when did the Knights grow so big?"

"Nightwing's death, as horrible as it was, has been both a blessing and a curse," said Huntress sadly. "More people have joined our cause, but not all of them have chosen to fight our way. Many people are becoming "super villains" to try to fight the assassins. They've resorted to killing to bring down Batman. You know, it's almost funny that now it's the so-called super criminals working for the good side. Some of them choose to emulate the rogues, I've seen people paint their faces to look like Two-Face and I've even seen some clowns, among many other designs. It's utter madness."

Damian stayed and listened to Huntress preach to the Knights, encouraging them to not give up and to keep fighting. She then discussed battle strategies, and Damian couldn't believe the gold-mine of information he was getting. His father would not be disappointed.

As the people began to disperse and leave, Nightwing went back to talk to Huntress. There was something about her that had gotten his attention, and he wanted to talk with her some more.

"The Knights are lucky to have a leader like you," he told her once he had her alone, or as alone as they could get in that place.

"Thanks, but I'm actually not the leader. Jim Gordon used to lead, but he died of a heart attack a few years ago. Oracle leads the people now, I just help her do it."

"But still, you're great at what you do. You'll take down the Batman, no problem."

She cracked a smile and said, "You're sweet."

As she walked off, Damian decided that he wouldn't tell his father what he had found just yet. He would tell him that he hadn't found anything, but that he would keep looking. It would satisfy his father, and in the meantime he could get to know Huntress better.

xxxx

**One and a half months later**

The government declared war on the Batman only twenty-four hours after he sent assassins into the rest of the country, just as he had known they would. The government had sent out numerous amounts of soldiers to stop the assassins, and for the moment neither side was truly winning. The League's size continued to grow as the government sent out more soldiers, and so despite the government's efforts the assassins were still gaining ground, however slowly. They had begun by blowing up prisons and any other institutions where "undesirables" were kept. This increased their popularity with many, as they believed this was a blessing, but there were always those who refused to see the good that Batman's efforts brought.

Batman was about to leave to go out on patrol for the night, something he didn't do as often now that he had the assassins but something he still did nonetheless. He wanted to be on the front-line, but Talia caught him before he could go.

"Beloved, wait. I need to talk to you about something," said Talia, who was accompanied by two assassins whose faces were obscured by hoods.

"What is it, Talia?" he asked, a bit impatient at being held up.

"I don't want you to go out there, not with all the soldiers out there looking for you. Something could happen."

"You mean I could get killed? That's not a concern Talia, not with the Lazarus Pit."

"So you are throwing caution to the wind because you have the Pit to fall back on? If you use the Pit too much it will drive you mad."

"Talia, my city needs me, I can't just sit around all the time, ignoring their cries for help. I took this job so that I could save them, not so that I could sit back and expect the assassins to do all the work. You know I this, you know they need me."

"If I can't stop you, then at least take protection. I have here William and Raven, two new recruits who will accompany you and assist you if needed," she said as she gestured to the assassins behind her, who bowed respectfully.

"I don't need help, and they would be better used fighting soldiers and the Knights, not babysitting me."

"Please do this, if only to keep me from worrying. Please, my love?"

Batman sighed and said, "I'll take them with me if it will make you feel better."

"Thank you," said Talia as she kissed his cheek.

Batman left then, followed closely by his new bodyguards.

xxxx

Damian sat with Huntress in the Knight's headquarters. He had been pretending to be on her side for over a month now, and in that time he had begun to develop strong feelings for her. This posed many problems for him, because as badly as he wanted to help his father in his crusade, he didn't want any harm to befall Huntress. He was worried about her, he didn't know what to do.

"Why do you fight the assassins?" he asked her. The only thing he could think to do would be to somehow persuade her to switch sides.

"When I was six years old, my parents were in a car accident. My mother was killed instantly, but my father survived, but with brain damage. When he woke up, he had the mind of a six year old. He wasn't stupid or anything, but he couldn't take care of himself anymore, much less a child, so he was put in Arkham and I went to live with my grandfather. It wasn't easy seeing him like that, but I couldn't have asked for a better father. He loved me so much and was always ecstatic to see me on visiting days, but when I was eleven he was killed when Batman ordered the attack on the asylum. He wasn't a threat to anyone, but he killed him as though he were some kind of criminal. I swore that day that I would stop Batman, even though I had no idea how I would do it. Nightwing took me in as his sidekick, and ever since then I've spent all my time fighting to bring the Batman to justice. He's a man who's playing God with people's lives, and I can't let him hurt anyone else like he hurt me," she wiped away a tear and said, "Why do you fight? Did he take someone from you, too?"

"Yes and no, it's complicated," said Damian, unsure if his grandfather's death counted since it had been his idea in the first place. "Have you ever thought that maybe we're fighting for a lost cause? I'm not saying Batman shouldn't be stopped," he quickly backtracked at the look she was giving him. "I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't resist anymore. More and more people die every day, maybe we need to stop before we get all these people killed."

"How could you say that? We can't give up hope, without hope, what do we have left? Do you want to spend your life enslaved to that madman? A life lived in fear is no life at all." said Huntress. "What would you have us do, surrender to the Bat? I can't do that Damian, I just can't."

Just as Damian opened his mouth to speak, Huntress said, "Would you like to meet Oracle? She'll show you that there's still hope for our cause, follow me."

Huntress led Damian to a room he had never been in before. He had never seen Oracle, at least, not since he had joined the Knights, because she hardly ever showed herself. Oracle seemed to prefer sitting back and letting Huntress do the talking.

"Oracle, there's someone I'd like you to meet," said Huntress as she led him inside. "This is Damian, a good friend of mine."

"Huntress, I don't have time for-" Oracle froze in her chair when she saw his face. "Damian? Is that you?"

He couldn't believe she recognized him, it had been ten years for crying out loud! He decided to go on the offensive. "How do you know my name?"

"You're Batman's son, you're Robin," said Oracle as she glared at him.

"There must be some kind of mistake, there's no way he could be Robin!" said Huntress disbelievingly.

"I am not Robin," denied Damian, hoping with everything in him that Huntress would believe him, and not Oracle.

"You have your father's face, there is no doubt that you are Robin. You've come to spy on us, to help your father destroy us!"

"How could you?" cried Huntress. "I trusted you, and all along you've been one of _them_?"

"It's not what you think, I can explain!" he pleaded.

"Get out, get out and never come back," said Huntress, tears in her eyes. "I never want to see you again."

But Huntress I-"

"Get out!" she screamed.

Damian left the hideout, his heart broken. The girl of his dreams, quite possibly the girl he loved, hated him. She was the only girl he wanted, and the one he couldn't have.

As he walked away from the building feeling sorry for himself, he was suddenly confronted by his father.

"D-Dad, what are you doing here?" he asked nervously, silently praying he hadn't seen him exit the warehouse.

"What were you doing in that warehouse?" his father asked.

"I- nothing. I was just-"

Batman walked past him and looked inside one of the windows. When he turned and looked back at Damian, his expression was furious.

"You discovered the White Knight's headquarters, and you didn't tell me? How long have you known this?"

Damian was a great liar, except when it came to his father. His father was like a human lie detector, especially when he was upset or angry, so he knew that lying would only make things worse. "I've known for a while, and I was going to tell you, but-"

"You withheld valuable information from me? You've betrayed me son, I am very disappointed in you," said Batman contemptuously.

"What are you going to do to them?" he asked quietly.

"I'm going to have the assassins come and wipe them out, tomorrow."

"Can you ask them to spare Huntress?" asked Damian, knowing he was taking a big risk just by asking.

"Why would I do that? So that the White Knights can survive?" asked Batman angrily.

"I love her, Father. Please let her live, maybe we can get her to join our side. After you kill the others maybe she'll see reason." Damian knew she would rather die than join them, but he had to do something. He couldn't let him kill her, even if she hated him, even if he never got to speak to her again, as long as she was still alive he would be satisfied.

Batman studied him for a moment, then said, "I'll tell them to spare her."

Damian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Father."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Damian spent the entire day watching the news, waiting for them to report the extermination of the White Knights. He had not been allowed to help, so he would have to rely on the news for information.

Finally, they began their report on the massacre. The assassins had long since left the building, leaving the bodies for their families to find. He watched closely for any sign of Huntress, as she would be the sole survivor of the attack. The news reporter went inside the building, showing the audience all the bodies that had been left behind. He couldn't count the number of corpses, and the reporter and cameraman had to be careful not to slip on the blood that had flooded the warehouse. It served them right, Damian thought, after all, they had been the ones stupid enough to think they could actually challenge his father.

"Come on Huntress, where are you?" he muttered to himself.

When he finally saw Huntress, he picked up the TV and hurled it at the wall. He screamed and broke everything in the room as he tried to come to terms with what he had just seen.

Huntress, or what was left of her, was laying on the floor in a mix of her own blood and the blood of those closest to her. She had been decapitated, and he had destroyed the television before he could see her body. He would never forget the way she looked in death, he could just imagine her eyes behind her mask, soulless and unseeing. He wondered what her eyes even looked like, as he had never had the chance to see her without her mask on. In fact, he didn't even know her real name. He had only known her for a short time, but it felt like they had always known each other, like they were soul mates. He realized with great agony that he was the reason she was dead. He should have been there, he should have saved her, but he hadn't. Instead he had led his father to her, and had failed to save her from his wrath. His father… his father had promised him she would be allowed to live, but he had lied. His father had taken the love of his life from him, because he had deemed it necessary to murder her and anyone else like her who refused to see things his way. For the first time in his life, he began to wonder if what he had been doing was wrong. He began to wonder if he was playing for the wrong side.

He stormed up to his father's study and found him talking to one of his bodyguards, the one called William.

"Leave Damian, we'll talk later," said Batman, undoubtedly knowing why Damian was there.

"No, we'll talk right now," growled Damian.

Batman scowled at him and said, "All right, speak then."

"You lied to me. You said you wouldn't let them kill Huntress but you did! How could you?"

"I did what was necessary. If I had told you the truth, you would have warned her and helped her escape, and others would have tried to escape, as well. You would have made a huge mess of things. I didn't want to lie to you, but you gave me no choice," said Batman as he got up and put a hand on Damian's shoulder. "It's better this way, I promise. I know what it's like to lose the people you care about, but you learn to move on, you learn to forget the pain."

"I don't want to forget Huntress," said Damian with tears in his eyes.

"You need to look at the big picture, son," said Batman. "She was just one person in a sea of people. She wasn't worth any more, or any less than anyone else."

"That's not true, she was important, she was special! You no longer see individuals, only crowds." said Damian as he pulled away from his father. "Can't you see what you're doing to Gotham? Huntress was good, she meant no one any harm, but you killed her anyway! There's no line between good and evil anymore with you, all you see is corruption, when the corruption is inside of you!"

"Damian, if a man murders three people, who is to blame for the people's deaths?"

"The murderer, of course. But what does that-"

"But if a man murders three people and the judge lets him go free, and the man murders three more, who bears the blood of the dead?"

"Still the murderer."

"No Damian, if the judge lets the man go then the blood of his victims is on the judge's hands. I had to kill her for the rest of Gotham. One life is not worth thousands. What I'm trying to make you understand, is that sometimes people have to make difficult decisions for the greater good. I abhor murder, but it is the only solution."

"But she wasn't evil! She was just trying to do what she thought was right! Even after I told you how I felt about her you killed her anyway. I loved her, but you just don't care, do you?"

"I do care, but love is weakness. It has brought me to my knees so many times before, and I no longer let it affect me."

"What about me, and Mom? Don't you love us? Or are we just tools, like we were to Grandfather?"

"I do love you, but I will not let it get in the way of my duties as Batman. Everything I've done is for the people of Gotham, and I'll stop at nothing to purify this city, no matter the cost."

"Do you even hear yourself?" asked Damian incredulously. "You've lost your mind! You're just as evil and insane as all the super villains you used to lock away. You know, I used to believe what we were doing was right, I thought we were the good guys, but you've shown me how wrong I was, you've shown me that we've been the villains all along. I'm leaving, I'm going to salvage whatever I can of the White Knights and help them defeat you once and for all."

Before he could leave, Batman grabbed him. Damian tried to fight back but he was no match for his father. Batman wrestled him to the floor and pinned him down.

"I once thought you would make a suitable heir one day, but you've shown me that you cannot be trusted. You're a traitor and a disgrace, and I cannot allow this to continue." He drew a dagger and looked deeply into his son's anger-filled eyes.

"I'm your son!" protested Damian. "You can't do this! I'm your son!"

"I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice."

"No!" shouted Raven suddenly. She ran over and knelt down next to them. "Don't do this, don't murder your son. Let the boy go."

Batman knew that voice. He hesitated for a moment, then sliced open Damian's throat with the dagger. It killed him to have to do it, but it was better that he do it, instead of someone else.

He turned to Raven and yanked down her hood and gasped when he saw her face. He couldn't believe it, it was Selina.

Selina pulled her hood back down and ran from the room as fast as she could. Baffled, Batman gave chase and followed her. He had to know what was going on.

"Selina!" he shouted. "Selina, wait!"

As he ran after her, he heard a horrified scream come from upstairs. Just as he was about to grab her, he heard Talia shout at him.

"What have you done!" she wailed. "Our son! You killed our son!"

Batman recovered from the distraction too late. Selina had escaped.

"Why did you do this? How could you do it?" asked Talia as she approached him, tears streaming down her face and her clothes soaked in Damian's blood.

"He turned against me, he betrayed me. He was no good Talia, no good."

"You did not have to kill him, there were other ways we could have dealt with him."

"No, there wasn't. Just be glad it was me who killed him, and not an assassin. Besides, it's better this way. Isn't that what you told me when Nightwing was killed?"

"That was different, Damian was your son!"

"Nightwing was more my son than Damian ever was, despite being my own flesh and blood. You basically told me to just get over my son's death, but when it's your son, then it's wrong. You're a filthy hypocrite, Talia."

"Even my own father never took things this far."

"He never needed to, you were a good servant to him. He had more than enough reasons to keep you around, because you were useful to him. At least I loved Damian, I loved him enough to save him from what he was becoming."

"That was not the only reason my father loved me! How could even say that? You murdered your own child out of love? You are a liar! You never loved him!"

"Did you ever love him?" accused Batman. "You sent him to me over ten years ago, not because you wanted us to love each other, but because you wanted him to disrupt my work, to make my life more difficult in an attempt to make me side with your father. Is he even my son Talia, or did you lie about that too?"

"Of course you are the father, I would never lie about something like that! Yes, I sent him to you to disrupt your work, but I also wanted you two to get to know each other as father and son. I had hoped that maybe you would accept my father's offer and marry me for Damian, for your child. I loved you both so much, I wanted us to be a happy family, but look what you've done, you've taken this too far. You have ruined everything!"

"Many other people have lost their children too, but you only care about yours. I kill to bring peace to the people, but you don't care about them. You only kill to save the planet, while you disregard the people! Only when it affects you personally do you care about life other than your own, you have no idea what it is like to sacrifice what you love for the greater good."

"You are a monster," she whispered.

"I'm the monster?" he asked angrily. "You lied to me Talia, you told me Selina was dead, but she was just here! You've been lying to me for over ten years, you know how much I care about her, why would deceive me like that?"

Talia's expression went from anger and grief to fear instantly. "I was afraid if you knew she was alive you would have chosen her instead of me. I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not. I did what I had to so that we could finally be together. I love you so much, that slut does not deserve you, not in the least." Talia took his hands in hers as tears poured down her face. "We can still be together, we can still save the world. We can have more children, good children. We can forget all about this night and be happy for all eternity. Please forgive me Beloved, please forgive me."

In response, Batman slapped her, knocking her to the floor. "I can't even trust my own wife," he growled. "The entire world is against me. All I've ever done is try to save these people, I've sacrificed everything to save this world, and yet the world continues to punish me. No more."

"Are you going to kill me?" asked Talia as she wept at his feet.

"I should, I want to, but I'm not going to. Not now anyway. I don't have any time to waste on you."

Batman left the house for the last time, but before he did so he made William watch her so that she couldn't escape and leave the city. He was sick of Gotham, the place was infected with a disease that he had been unable to cure despite all his efforts. He realized that Gotham couldn't be saved, and instead he needed to stop the infection from spreading. He called some of the assassins to begin setting up bombs all throughout the city, and he ordered them to not say a word about it to anyone. He had had the bombs made a long time ago, just for this day. They would die, but as Ra's had said, they would willingly lay down their lives for their master. He would destroy the city that night with everyone in it. These people were no more than carriers of the disease, and if allowed to live they would only spread the infection to other parts of the world. No, he needed to end Gotham, it was the only way he could save it.

xxxx

Batman stood atop a building, taking one last look at his city before its demise. He had a helicopter waiting for him so he could escape; while he wouldn't mind dying, he still had a job to do. He wished he could allow himself to die, because continuing on and trying to save a doomed planet was becoming too much for him to bear, but he had made a promise to put an end to the evil in the world and he wasn't about to break it. After all, he had finally realized that he could not keep his promise to keep Gotham safe, so he would just have to make sure he did not fail again when he moved on to the rest of the world.

His thoughts drifted back to that night so many years ago, when he had reached that turning point in his life, the night that would ultimately cause him to become the Batman. That awful night so long ago, the memory of it and the pain it caused was nearly too much to endure. He tried not to think about it, he tried to bury the memory somewhere it couldn't hurt him anymore, but he always failed. Of course, how could he be expected to forget when the mask he wore and the criminals he fought constantly reminded him of why he had become Batman in the first place?

"I couldn't do it, I couldn't keep my promise. I failed you, and I'm sorry," he whispered. He turned and was just about to climb into the chopper and activate the detonator, when he heard a familiar voice speak from the darkness.

"Lovely night tonight, don't you think? I don't think I've ever seen the sky filled with so many stars."

He turned and saw Catwoman, a smirk on her face.

"I can't believe you're alive. All this time I thought you were dead," he said incredulously.

"The doctors said that when Harley destroyed my life-support machine, the lack of oxygen must have shocked my body into waking up, like it jump-started me or something."

"Why didn't you ever come back until now?"

"No one just wakes up from a coma all fine and dandy, especially when they have a bullet in their brain. It took a long time for me to recuperate, and by the time I finished recovering, you had changed and you had changed Gotham. I didn't want to just rush in without thinking things through, what with you offing bad people like me."

Batman sat on the ledge of the building and motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you so much, you have no idea how sorry I am that I let that madman hurt you."

"Do you still love me, even after all these years?"

"Of course I do, not a day passed that I didn't think of you."

"And you with a wife and child, you sly dog."

"Don't talk about them."

"I am so sorry about what happened, the world has been so unfair to you. All you do is give and give, and the universe continues to punish you. Why is it that the good suffer so much more than the evil?"

"You're one of the few blessings I've been granted in my life, and yet I still cannot have you."

"Says who? I want to be with you, and you want to be with me. What's to stop us? In case you hadn't noticed, things have changed, and I think we can finally be together. With the work you've done for this world, you can be the king and I your queen."

"I don't want power, I only want to abolish crime and the people's suffering."

"We can do both. With me as your queen, I think you could get used to being in power."

Batman looked down at her and smiled for the first time in years. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers. Oh, how he loved this woman. Kissing her was like taking a drink of water after days in the desert, it made him feel alive again. Yes, she would be his queen, and with the Lazarus Pit, they would always be together. He would never let anything separate them ever again.

Suddenly, he began to feel hot, even though the night air was chilly. He ignored it at first, but it grew worse, until it was like he was on fire. He began to have trouble breathing, he pulled away and gasped for air. He looked to Catwoman for help. Seemingly unconcerned, she pulled out a tube of lipstick and showed it to him.

"I found this in one of the plant lady's old hideouts. Apparently it still works."

"H-How could you, you said you loved me," coughed Batman.

"I'm doing this _because_ I love you. Can't you see this isn't you? You're not the man I fell in love with, you're a tyrant who kills in the name of peace. By compromising your own morals you forced me to compromise mine. This was the only way I could save you from yourself."

Batman fell back and Catwoman caught him. She held his head in her hands as she said, "You became Batman because you didn't want to see anyone else die, you wanted to save the world, but all you've done is poison it. You've become the very thing you sought to destroy. Gotham is dying, but perhaps now it can recover, as can the rest of the world. I hope you'll forgive me, but I'll understand if you won't."

Batman pulled out the detonator. "No!" cried Catwoman as she tried to grab it from him, but she was too late. He pressed the button before she could stop him.

"Congratulations, you've just murdered more people than all the rogues combined!" said Catwoman angrily as she stood and ran to the helicopter as the world began to explode around them. "Remember that I love you, and will always love you, even now that you've murdered all of Gotham, even now that you're a monster."

She took off in the helicopter and left Batman to die. He reached for the anti-toxin in his utility belt, but stopped himself. As he drew his final breaths, his eyes were finally opened, he finally saw what he truly was. It had taken his own death to make him see. Catwoman had been wrong, he wasn't a monster, he was far worse. He had wanted to save the people, but all he had done was hurt them. He had fallen into the pit of madness, he had sunk even lower than his enemies, but had failed to realize it until it was far too late to save himself. He had become a puppet while evil and darkness pulled the strings. He hated himself for what he had become, he felt tears of grief run down his face for what he had lost: his soul. What does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul? Nothing, absolutely nothing. He had forfeited his soul in an attempt to cleanse the world, but nothing, not even the lives he fought to save, were worth his soul. He had lost himself, and the world was paying the price. No, he would not save himself, he needed to die. Perhaps if he died, the world would finally be able to heal from all the damage he had done. Gotham was dead, but maybe it could be reborn from the ashes. It was all he had left to hope for. As he drew his final breaths, the world around him was engulfed in flames.

_**Author's Notes: **__One more chapter! Don't stop reading yet :)_


	10. Chapter 10

"What will it take to get this thing moving again? Either we're stuck in traffic, or the police really want me to escape again."

"Is that it? The story ends with Batman dying and Gotham roasting? As much as I love the ending, I'm not sure I get the rest of the story."

"So you are as dumb as you look. I guess you're to blame for all the blonde jokes."

"I'm sorry, Puddin', but I'm not as smart as you. I'm trying my best to understand, and I get it for the most part, but there're still some things I'm kinda confused about."

"You're confused about a lot of things, Harley."

The Joker and Harley were being transported back to Arkham in an armored car. They had been stuck in traffic for a very long time, and so Joker had entertained himself during the wait by attempting to teach Harley a lesson.

They had been at the zoo getting back their hyenas for Harley's birthday. Normally he would have made her get her own birthday present, but he had been in a good mood that day because of his latest plan. He had been so excited about it, because there wouldn't be a soul in Gotham who would see it coming. He had planned to infect Gotham with a toxin that would make them all sad and depressed and suicidal; basically the opposite of his Joker venom. He wanted to show Gotham just how important a happy smile is, but he needed the antidote to his Joker venom to complete the compound, something that he knew the Batman always carried with him. Of course he had never made an antidote, and he could have just stolen some from any hospital, but what fun would that have been? And besides, he had wanted to make sure Batman got a front row seat to one of his more brilliant schemes. And when they had run into Catwoman at the zoo, he finally saw the perfect way to get the lovesick Bat into showing himself. He had shot her, provoking the hidden Batman into action. He had pinned the Joker to the ground and was strangling him, things had been turning out better than he had dared hope. Batman had come so very close to killing him, but before he could, Harley had gotten away from Nightwing and intervened and struck him with her hammer, bringing him back to his senses and making the Joker furious. After the police had shown up and loaded them in the armored car, Joker had killed the cop guarding them and then beaten the living crap out of Harley.

"_But I don't understand Puddin', he was gonna kill you!"_ Harley had shouted as he repeatedly slammed her head into the floor. _"I was trying to help, why I are you so angry? What did I do wrong?"_

The Joker had realized that she honestly didn't know what she had done wrong, and so he decided to explain it to her. After all, he couldn't hold her responsible if she was too stupid to see the error of her ways. He stopped his assault and pulled her bleeding form onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, which was difficult with the handcuffs. He had then proceeded to tell her a story, believing it was the best way to penetrate her thick, naive skull.

"I see what you're sayin', Batman would be a great villain, but why would you be willing to die to make that happen?" asked Harley.

"Because it would corrupt him and make him like us, of course. Think of how funny that would be."

"But why not just kill him? Wouldn't that be better?"

"Think about it Harley. Gotham is like a terminal cancer patient addicted to pain meds, and Batman is its morphine. Batman can't save Gotham any more than pain killers can save a dying man. Now, if Batman were killed, Gotham would suffer horribly, but it would survive. But if Batman suddenly turned against Gotham, he could destroy it. Batman can do things to Gotham that I can't. You can't be betrayed by your enemy, only your so-called "friends" can do that. They may hate him sometimes, but they need him, and deep down they trust him and rely on him to take care of their problems, and that makes them incredibly weak and vulnerable. I on the other hand, could never earn their trust. I could give up crime, sell all my things and give the money to the poor, I could spend my every waking moment in a soup kitchen, I could become Father Theresa for crying out loud! And they still wouldn't trust me, which just goes to show that they're not quite as stupid as I make them out to be. They need Batman, so if he turned on them, if their hero became their enemy, it would destroy them."

"That may be true, Puddin', but even an evil Batman would still have nothing on you. You're the most dangerous man in Gotham, Batman only wishes he could be as great as you," said Harley adoringly.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, you little minx, that goes without saying. That's not the real reason I'm willing to die, though. That would be just a side bonus. No, the real reason is because you can't just kill a man like Batman. I would love to kill him, but he would be okay with that. He cares more about the lives of others than he does his own, so just ending his life wouldn't be enough. Instead of just killing him, it would be far better to break him down, to make him forsake his morals and beliefs, to take the things he values most from him, to make him become the very thing he so despises. To do that would destroy him. Just imagine Batman then, how hilarious that would be. My life would be complete. But the way to break the Bat would be to make him break his one rule, he would have to take a life, and I'd be honored to be his first."

"Do you really think killing Catwoman would make him snap, like it did in your story?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But if there's anything out there that I can destroy that will make him snap, I'll find it."

"But what if you can't? What if Batman really is incorruptible?"

The Joker smacked Harley, sending her to the floor. She moaned in pain as she rubbed her bruised cheek as he said thoughtfully, "He may never kill, and I may never be able to break him, at least not completely. I've already done a fair bit of damage to his troubled psyche, but I may never be able to truly corrupt him. If a day ever comes when that becomes apparent, then I'll kill him, but only then, and not a day sooner."

"But what about me, Puddin'? I don't want you to die. Just hearing you talk about it in a story was bad enough, I don't even wanna think about what it would be like to lose you for real. I know that if it looks like B-man's gonna kill you don't want me to interfere, but I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I could just sit there and watch you die."

"I seem to recall doing just fine before you attached yourself to me, in case you hadn't noticed I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. If you think I need you to protect me from the Batman, then your mind is even more screwed up than I thought. Do I need to prove that to you?" he asked angrily. "Maybe I need to break out of here and bring you the Batman's head on a silver platter to show you how capable I am, would that convince you?"

"No, I don't think that Puddin'-"

"But you think I need you to save my life from the big bad Batman, is that it?" he shouted as he grabbed her neck and squeezed. "I made you the way you are, I think we both know who the greater villain is. But you think that if I didn't have you I would have died a long time ago, don't you? They don't call me the Clown Price of Crime for nothin, Sweets. I didn't become Batman's greatest foe by relying on other's to save my butt, no, I've bested the Bat time and time again. If and when Batman kills me it will be because I let him, not because you weren't there to stop him, got it!"

"Yessir," said Harley weakly, barely able to breathe as his grip threatened to crush her windpipe. He slowly released his grip on her and, despite her fear of what he might do to her, she couldn't stop herself from asking softly with tears dripping down her face, "Do you want to die?"

"Of course not Pumpkin Pie, I love making Gotham smile, and I would love nothing more than to watch Batman slip slowly into madness, he's practically there already," said Joker, calming down somewhat. "It would be such a thrill to watch him lose his mind and terrorize Gotham in the name of peace and justice. But no one lives forever Harley. Even dear Ra's and his magic zombie pit will die someday and not come back. There is only one way to truly live forever, and that is to leave your mark on society, to make sure that the world can't forget you, no matter how hard it tries. When you die, you can either pass on and be forgotten, or you can die in such a way you are unforgettable. I have nothing to live for, but I have plenty to die for. You have to decide what you want to die for Harley, because a man who has nothing to die for doesn't deserve to live."

"I have you, does that count?" asked Harley as she wrapped her sore arms around his legs.

"A bit predictable and a tad uncreative, but it'll work I suppose," he said with an indifferent shrug.

"Is that really what you think it would be like if Batman killed you? You really think all those things would happen?"

"Heavens no, I picture it differently every time, and some versions are more fun than others. That was the tame and dumbed-down version of one of my favorites for you, my dear. You don't even want to know what the others are like."

"Oh, okay," said Harley, choosing to not be offended by that. She paused, then said, "Do you really think I could kill B-man, like in the story?"

"Of course not, I added that in to make you feel good. Did it work?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Harley with a shrug.

"Wonderful, you can tell Dr. Leslie what a wonderful and caring boyfriend I am when we get to Arkham."

Dr. Leslie was their current doctor at Arkham. An overly optimistic woman who absolutely refused to see the glass as half-empty, she had decided that instead of trying to separate the Joker and Harley like everyone else had, she would give them "couple's counseling." It consisted mainly of the doctor trying to get Harley to be more independent, and teaching Joker to respect Harley more. It was irritating and entertaining for him at the same time, because as much as he hated having sessions with Harley where all they did was talk about their feelings, the very idea of himself in couple's counseling was hilarious. Dr. Leslie was convinced that they were making progress, and that she would have them functioning like a normal couple in no time. Looking at Harley now, Joker knew he would be getting an earful from her about being more caring and not being mean and hurtful, or something like that. Even though they had made little progress, if any, she just didn't know when to quit and refused to stop trying. While he had nothing against a cheery attitude, he could tell she wasn't even actually happy, she just refused to accept the possibility that she could actually fail. He would have killed her already, but he wanted to wipe that forced smile off her face and show her that she had been a fool to think she could change anything, he wanted to show her how pathetic she was and push her off the deep end. He didn't think it would be very difficult, as he was certain she had done time on loony-island before.

"I do have a wonderful boyfriend, don't I?" said Harley as she climbed back in his lap and snuggled closer to him as he rolled his eyes. "Ya know, in your story, I can't believe Talia became so obsessed with B-man, I bet he'd be a terrible boyfriend. I can see how she'd be attracted to him, but her infatuation with him was just weird."

"Love does crazy things to people," said Joker as he gave her a pointed look.

"And it's too bad we don't know who B-man really is, and all his little helpers. Just for the story, it would have been cool to have been able to include their secret identities in the story too, to see how it would have affected the outcome."

"Who says we don't know?" said Joker with a wink.

"And where was the Justice League? Shouldn't they have been in the story too?"

"Harley, this story was to teach you a lesson. There was no need to over-complicate things, the important thing is that you more or less understand the point I was trying to make. Besides, Stupid-man and the Fashion-Disasters don't deserve a place in my story, Nightwing barely made it in, and that was only because he's an important part of Batman's life."

"But there's some other things botherin' me too-"

"Now Cupcake, when you pick a story apart like that it really ruins it," said Joker as he looked down on her in annoyance. "Stories are meant to be enjoyed, not scrutinized to the point when they lose their meaning. Stories are meant to help you escape from reality, they work almost as well as madness. So what if things don't turn out like they did in the story, I want it to be a surprise anyway. Like I said, it's just one way the world could end, and believe me, there are innumerable ways to bring the world to its knees. You're spoiling my fun here and being a real killjoy. Did you not like my story, Harley?"

"Oh no Puddin', I loved it," she said as she attempted to kiss him, but he turned away, disappointed by her lack of imagination. She settled for resting her head on his chest. "You're the greatest story teller eva, you put everyone else to shame, and I really do mean that. Thanks for tellin' me the story, and I'm really sorry I messed things up for you."

"Yeah, you are sorry," he grumbled.

Just then, the vehicle began moving again, and they were on finally on their way. As they began moving again, the cop began to stir and groan.

"I thought she was dead!" said Harley, as though the woman had offended her by refusing to die.

"How many times do I have to kill you?" asked the Joker as he roughly shoved Harley off his lap and stood up and gave the woman a swift and powerful kick to her temple. "Check and see if I need to kick her again, Harl," he said as he sat back down.

"She's actually dead this time, Sweetie," said Harley after she checked her pulse.

They reached the asylum a few minutes later, where they were met by several guards and Dr. Leslie.

"Harley, what happened to you? When they called and told us about the incident at the zoo, they didn't mention anything like this," said Dr. Leslie. She then looked at the Joker and gave him a disapproving look. "Did you do this Joker?"

"Do what? She looks just fine to me," chuckled Joker.

"Joker, this kind of behavior is not okay, you know that," said Dr. Leslie as her patients were led inside. Another one of her irksome traits was her bad habit of talking to her patients like they were children, especially the Joker. "You said you weren't going to hurt her anymore."

"Really? I said that? Wow, the docs must have had me on some really weird pills that day," laughed the Joker.

"We're going to have a lot to talk about during our next session," sighed Dr. Leslie. Her smile slipped for a fraction of a second, but she quickly plastered it back on. "But don't worry, we're going to fix these problems, aren't we?"

The Joker stuck his tongue out at her while Harley remained silent. As much as she hated the woman, she was the only doctor who let her have therapy sessions with her Puddin', something the other doctors never did and had all warned her not to do.

Harley was led away from the Joker and put back in her reserved cell. It was very late, and so the guards would not bother putting her in a jumpsuit or getting her makeup washed off or get her injuries checked out until morning. She laid down on her bed, wincing as the pain from her injuries shot through her. She briefly wondered if she had any broken bones, but she was more worried about the Babies. She hoped they weren't sad or upset with her for breaking them out, only to be locked back up again almost immediately. She knew the feeling well.

She thought about what had happened, and about what the Joker had said. Thinking about it, she knew what he had said made sense, and she had been foolish to think that he needed her to save him. She understood that he could have escaped if he had wanted to, but had chosen not to so he could destroy the Bat. She knew he didn't need her to save him, but she also knew that if she had to repeat the night over she wouldn't change a thing. There was no way that she would ever just sit by and watch him die. She knew it was selfish of her, but she loved him too much to ever just let something happen to him, even if it did mean ruining his dream and getting a beating. She giggled to herself, it always felt strange when she did the opposite of what he told her to do.

"Sorry Puddin', but there's no way I'm gonna let you get hurt," whispered Harley to herself. "Not that it matters, B-man is too much of a goody-goody to ever cross the line and do anything like that. But even if he ever did, I wouldn't let you die. Yeah it's selfish, but I love you too much to ever let you go. I know you wouldn't need me to but I don't care. I want you to be happy, but you don't need to break the Bat to be happy. But I will help you kill 'em. Will get 'em someday, Mistah J, and then it'll be just the two of us, livin' happily eva after."

Before she drifted into dreamland, she made a mental note to herself to have the Joker tell her stories more often.

xxxx

Bruce Wayne entered the Batcave, where Alfred was waiting for him. He removed his cowl and ran his fingers through his hair tiredly.

"So were you able to catch Catwoman, sir?" asked Alfred.

"The Joker was there. He shot her to get my attention," said Bruce through gritted teeth.

"Oh my. Will she be all right?"

"Barbara's keeping me posted on her condition, but according to the paramedics she should be fine, but it will take time."

"You seem troubled sir, and I gather it's not just because of Catwoman's condition."

"After he shot her, I nearly killed the Joker. I let my hatred and my pain cloud my judgment, and I nearly took his life. Dick was trying to restrain Harley, but she escaped and hit me with her hammer. It took that blow to stop me from making the worst mistake of my life," said Bruce, ashamed of himself. "Not only that, but I've been thinking about all the people who have died because of people like him, people who have been hurt like Selina was tonight. They commit the murders, but by not killing them I have the blood on my hands. I'm not saying I think I should start killing, but what I am saying is that this guilt, this burden, is unbearable."

"You are not responsible for the sins of the criminals around you, sir. Even criminals as insane as the Joker are ultimately responsible for their acts, not you. I understand why you blame yourself, but the deaths of the people are not your fault. You have fought hard and sacrificed much for them, the blame is not yours."

"Maybe so, but the fact remains that every night I come closer and closer to giving in, I feel like my resolve is weakening. Alfred, I'm not sure if I should continue this. I want to help these people more than anything, but what if a time comes when I hurt them instead of help, when I become their hero instead of their protector. Maybe I'm not supposed to be the Batman. Maybe the job was supposed to go to someone else, someone who can fight evil and resist it better than I."

"Now sir, I believe that if you want to retire, you should not be doing it simply because of one incident. The fact that you came close to crossing that line simply means that you're human. There's not a single person alive that could do what you do and not be tempted to sink down to the level of their enemies. Most men would have given in by now, but you refuse to lose sight of what you believe in, and that is what makes you such a great hero. You know, I've been meaning to show you this." Alfred went the batcomputer and pulled up a website. He then showed Bruce what appeared to be a letter. It read:

_Dear Batman,_

_Thank you for saving my family from the bad guys who broke into my house yesterday. When I grow up, I want to be just like you. Not a superhero, but someone who helps people in need. No matter what anyone says about you, I know that you're not a bad person. You're my hero, and I hope you never stop being Batman._

_ -Tommy Bishop_

"There are hundreds of others like this, and many weren't written by children. Since the people couldn't thank you personally, they started this in hopes that you would see it. It shows how great a difference just one man can make in the world."

"I can't believe this," said Bruce, stunned by the little's boy's show of gratitude. "This is amazing."

"I thought I'd show it to you sir, because sometimes even the Batman needs a little encouragement. You've done so much for this city, your parents would be very proud."

"I need to interrogate the Joker and find out what he was planning," said as he Bruce put the cowl back on. "Thank you, Alfred."

Alfred only nodded as Bruce climbed back into the Batmobile and drove off into the night.

xxxx

The Joker lay on the little cot in his tiny cell, pondering the events of that night.

He couldn't believe Harley had screwed everything up for him, again. She was a sweet kid and he knew she meant well, but right then he really wanted to make her bleed again. He was having to put real effort into not sneaking out of his cell and killing the insane woman. He often wondered why he kept her alive, and now was one of those times. He knew she wasn't going to listen to him, she rarely did when it came to things that were actually important, and that made him want to kill her even more. Why was it that whenever he had a chance to kill her he let it pass him by? Why he put up with her at all he would never know.

Still, at least now this meant he could have some more fun messing with Batman's head. It was his favorite game, after all. He reached into his suit pocket, which he knew they would be coming to remove any time now, and pulled out the anti-toxin for his laughing gas and hid it in a hole he had cut a long time ago in his poor excuse for a mattress. This was only a minor setback, and he would be putting frowns on the people's faces soon enough. Why, as soon as they got a taste of the toxin he would whip up, they would practically be begging him for Joker Venom. He wondered if it would work on Batman, or if he would even be able to tell if it did.

One day, and he didn't care if it came ten days or ten years later, either he or Batman would kill the other, and he didn't care which. If he killed Batman he would've defeated his greatest adversary once and for all, and he would be able to do whatever he wanted with poor pathetic Gotham. Hell, if he felt like it he could do whatever he wanted to the entire world and no one could stop him. But if Batman killed him, it would force him to sacrifice his morals and beliefs, he would be brought down to his level, and he would be showing the world that everything the Joker had been saying all along was true, that anyone could have just one bad day and become just like him. Either way the Joker would win, he couldn't lose.

Just then, Batman silently entered his cell. "We're going to have a little talk, Joker."

"What about?" asked the Joker innocently. "My near-death experience tonight?"

"That won't work, Joker. I came close to breaking my rule tonight, but I will never cross that line, I will never become like you. Now, what did you have planned for Gotham?"

"How big are you on stories?" asked the Joker suddenly as he stared up at the ceiling. He always loved these little chats he had with the man who was his best friend, yet at the same time was his worst enemy. "I absolutely love stories, in fact I told Harley one on the way here. I'll have to tell it to you sometime, I just know you'd love it. But you know, the most important part of any story is the ending. You can write the most amazing book in the world, but if the ending isn't perfect, it ruins the entire story," said the Joker as he sat up and looked at him with a huge smile stretched across his face. "Our stories are intertwined and have become one, and one day our story will come to an end, and I can assure you it will be nothing short of spectacular. Keep trying to find sense in a senseless world, keep trying to save the stupid sheep from getting themselves killed. Do whatever you want, because no matter what happens in our story, I'll be writing the ending! **AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

_**Author's Notes:**__ So what did you think? If you enjoyed this story please review and tell me what you think, your opinion is always welcome and appreciated :)_


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